


Sina University

by emclementine



Series: Sina University [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: #fic: sina uni, F/M, Jean Has a Potty Mouth, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, Slow Burn, Stalker!AU, extreme rock climbing, increasingly creepy love notes, jeanmarco, musical numbers, now with a handful of smut, sunshine and starlight, superhero underwear
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-03-19
Updated: 2015-12-20
Packaged: 2018-01-16 06:58:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 12
Words: 48,943
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1336261
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emclementine/pseuds/emclementine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean Kirschstein, an avid extreme rock climber, is going to a college known for just that. When he (literally) bumps into our beloved Freckled Jesus, Marco Bodt. While having feelings for a man are new for Jean, he'll have to adjust fast. Someone else wants Marco all to himself and isn't afraid to make that happen, by any means necessary.</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/3477761">Trigger Warnings</a><br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Orientation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's freshman orientation. Huzzah! Not really. Okay enjoy this intro into my little jeanmarco AU.  
> 5/1/14: I did a bit of editing. Heh.  
> 6/19/14: More editing because I am without a real computer.

**Chapter 1**

 

Welcome to Sina University, a.k.a. the Wall. Nicknamed for obvious reasons, the university itself is surrounded by a wall fifteen meters tall. The history books say there used to be a wall fifty meters tall that surrounded the city of Sina many centuries ago. Unfortunately, nothing is left of that wall, but the stories of its existence. I have no idea how a wall that tall ever existed. I sighed and continued trudging my way up the last flight of stairs, suitcase in hand. God damn it why did my dorm room have to be on the third floor? Why did the elevator have to be broken? Why did my mother insist I would need so many clothes? Judging from the looks on those guys faces they didn’t have an answer for any of my questions… that I apparently just asked out loud.

 

Room 104. I opened the door for probably the millionth time today, glad to be done hauling all of my stuff up here. It was nothing fancy. The left hand side of the room was piled with all of my still packed bags. There was a small desk immediately to the left of the door, a corkboard hanging just above it on the wall. Next to that was a twin size bed and on the wall across from the door was a closet. The right side of the room was an exact mirror of the left. Only the doorway and one large window between the two closets divided the room. The right side of the room was neat. A laptop sat on the desk along with a notebook. A calendar was pinned to the cork board. The bed was made with… ugh, hospital corners. On top of that all of his clothes were hung pristinely on hangers in the closet. There was no way in hell this guy was going to be able to handle my messy tendencies.

 

As I walked to the closet I caught sight of myself in the full length mirror hung on the wall. My two-toned hair stuck out in all different directions, the dyed blonde top fighting with the naturally brown undercut. I used to have frosted tips when I was young, go ahead laugh about it. Somehow that nauseating fad turned into this half and half dye job I've been working since high school. There were noticeable bags under my light brown eyes from the long car ride here and lack of sleep last night. The light from the window reflected off of my piercing in my right eyebrow. Although you couldn’t see them, I also had an industrial piercing in my left ear, helix piercing in the top of my right ear, a set of studs in each ear lobe, and a ring on my left, lower lip. I touched my left shoulder thinking of the permanent reminder I had inked into my skin there. “Jean Kirschstein you are the catch of the century,” I quipped at my reflection. I threw my last suitcase into my closet and turned to face my room. I felt a sharp vibration in my pocket signifying that I had a text message. It was from Jaeger. What could he possibly want?

_Eren: Hey horse face, where are you?_

_Me: In my room. What do you want?_

I deliberately ignored the horse face comment, too tired for any of Eren’s shit today.

_Eren: Orientation starts in 5 minutes. You better hurry your ass up or you’ll miss it._

Damn it. Orientation was being held all the way across campus too. I stuffed my phone back into my pocket and bolted out the door. Only to remember… I left my room keys on the desk in my room. The doors automatically lock. Guess I’m not getting back into my room for a while.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

“I really need to work out more,” I wheezed as I sprinted across campus. Next I could recall I found myself staring up at the sky, my head throbbing dully. Somewhere in my brain it registered that I had run into something.

“Ouch,” muttered a stunned voice beside me. Some _one_ I amended mentally. I sat up and peered over at said man. He rubbed his head, effectively messing up his dark brown, near black hair.

“Sorry dude. I’m running late for orientation,” I apologized lamely.

“Oh, no. It’s entirely my fault. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” he quickly replied. “Wait, did you say orientation?”

“Uhh, yeah.”

“Oh that’s where I’m headed,” he mentioned as he stood up. He extended a hand toward me and said, “Come on. Let’s hurry. We still have one minute before it starts.” I grasped the hand offered to me, amazed at just how large it was, and leveraged myself upright. When I came up to full height I realized that I now had to look up just to meet his eyes. He had a few good centimeters on me. We turned and headed into the building where the orientation was being held.

 

Inside a group of men and women sat at a table labeled “Check In”. Together we wandered over. “Name,” drawled the lady behind the table.

“Marco Bodt,” my new companion replied. _Marco Bodt._ So that was his name. It suited him. I’d have to file that away for later in case I had any use for it. Snickering broke me out of my reverie.

“Name,” said the woman behind the table, clearly repeating herself for my benefit.

“Jean Kirschstein,” I blurted, feeling the red hot blush creep up my neck to the tips of my ears. Wait, had Marco really just snickered at me? I chanced a peek at him. Yup, still trying to contain his muffled laughter over there. I made a face at him which only served to make him giggle more. Not an unpleasant sight that. His brown eyes shone brightly. It was then that I noticed he had a smattering of freckles across his cheeks. Well, across his everywhere. They sprawled down onto his neck, further to his collar bone. If he wasn’t wearing a shirt I bet I could see them paint their way down his well-defined chest, over the ridges of his stomach, lower to his… and the blush was back. Why on Earth was I picturing him shirtless anyway?

 

The woman handed us stickers with our names on them and directed us to an adjoining room. Inside was an auditorium packed with incoming college freshman. Armin spotted me first and waved to get my attention. When I waved back he directed his attention back to Eren who was clearly telling some story. Eren’s two-toned eyes flashed as he gesticulated wildly with his tale. They'd been that way since birth. His right eye the yellow of liquid sunshine and the left a pool of teal water. A cowlick was visible in his brown hair. Well at least one of us slept well last night. Armin was the exact opposite of Eren. With blonde hair and blue eyes he was the very definition of Aryan. By nature he was quiet, reserved, and smart as hell. Eren was a loud ass, obnoxious mother fucker. Mikasa, Eren’s adopted sister, rounded out the inseparable trio. She must have cut her hair because the blunt ends of her black locks brushed her chin. Her gray eyes explored the auditorium, taking in the people and the atmosphere. Observant, as usual. The four of us had been friends since high school. “Hey, Marco, over here,” called a guy with buzzed hair and a natural tan that any rich white girl would envy.

“Well, those are my friends. Guess I’ll see you around,” Marco directed at me.

“Actually,” I said laughing, “You see those idiots next to them? Those are my friends.” Wouldn’t you know, there were two empty seats right in between the two groups of friends. “After you,” I offered, gesturing in their direction. Marco wandered up the steps with myself right behind.

“Hey, horse face. You made it,” teased Eren.

“Yeah, no thanks to you. Ya, coulda reminded me earlier,” I retorted.

“Who is your new friend?” Armin interrupted before Eren and I got into one of our classic fights.

“This is Marco Bodt,” I introduced. “Marco, this is Mikasa Ackerman, Armin Arlert, and that abomination over there is Eren Jaeger.”

“Hey-“ Eren began only to be interrupted.

“Don’t forget about us, Marco.” This from a petite brunette girl.

“Ahh, Jean, this is Connie Springer,” shaved head boy nodded, “And Sasha Braus,” the brunette smiled and waved. “Connie and Sasha, this is Jean Kirschstein,” Marco provided helpfully.

“Nice to meet you,” they said in unison.

“Would everyone please take their seats, we’re going to begin the orientation now,” announced a tall blonde man over the mic system. Marco and I awkwardly shimmied our way to the two empty seats and sat down. “Glad you all could make it here today. My name is Erwin Smith and I am the president of Sina University. It is our goal…” he trailed on. And that was my cue to tune out. Why this dumb orientation was mandatory I’ll never know. “And now a word from our very own Levi Ackerman, coach of our extreme rock climbing team,” boomed blondie as he stepped away from the mic. The man that sauntered up to the mic was short. So short he had to spend a minute lowering the mic stand so it didn’t tower over him. His hair was pure black and cropped close to his head in an undercut much like mine. Flat gray eyes stared out at the crowd. He was dressed simply in a dress shirt and slacks, but a cravat adorned his neck. From what Eren told me, Levi and Mikasa were distant cousins or something like that. It wasn't until recently that they learned this and met for the first time. Mikasa never talked about it much. When they stood side-by-side you could see the resemblance. Chronic bitch face and scary athleticism must run in the family.

“I’m sure most of you are aware of our extreme rock climbing team, but for those that aren't familiar I've prepared a short video for you,” he said curtly. An image was then projected onto the large white screen behind him. The short man appeared again, but in the video he wore white pants, brown boots, a brown harness, metal gear at his waist, and a tan jacket bearing the school’s symbol, a silhouette of a regal woman wearing a crown. He stood in front of the university’s legendary wall. Stories say that the large wall that once surrounded Sina was made entirely of a humanoid creature called a titan. These enormous titans crystallized to form the very wall that once protected humankind from the titans. Coach Levi, or Heichou as he was popularly called, launched one wire to wrap around a peg part way up the Wall. At random intervals along the way up there were other pegs too. In extreme rock climbing the metal gear around the climber’s waist is used to snag onto the pegs and then propel the climber upward. As the climber progresses, they must remove their wire and cast it up to a higher peg. The goal is to make it to the top of whatever wall they’re climbing in the shortest amount of time possible… and without falling. As I watched the small man hurtled himself up the face of the wall, turning head over heels in a whirlwind. The track he climbed was known as the most difficult ever created. On the tallest wall known to man. He reached the top in 2.4 seconds. His skill as an extreme rock climber was unheard of. My jaw dropped in awe. This was why I came to this university. Extreme rock climbing was my passion, my life. The video ended there. “Well, that’s that. Try-outs for the competitive extreme rock climbing team are next week. You may practice at the indoor facilities on the other side of campus. More details are available on the university’s website,” he said briskly. Heichou then turned and marched off the stage.

“What a motivating and inspirational speech that was,” Eren whispered none too quietly.

“Shh,” Mikasa hushed him. I made a mental note to check out the details on the website later. The orientation seemed to drag on for an eternity after that, but mercifully did end.

“I’m hungry. Who wants food?” Eren asked.

“I’m game. My stomach is eating itself from the inside out. What about you?” I invited Marco without thinking.

“Actually we already made plans to go explore the campus,” Marco said apologetically.

“No worries. I’ll see you around, yeah?” I replied as nonchalantly as possible. A small part of me was kind of disappointed that he wasn't able to come too.

“Sure,” he smiled. Marco, Connie, and Sasha got up and left. Eren, Armin, Mikasa, and myself all went in search of the nearest dining hall.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

As I ate I cussed myself out. Why didn't I ask Marco for his number? Wait, why do I need some guy’s number? I don’t… I mean, I just bumped into the guy… literally. I need to get some girls’ numbers. Yeah, that’s what I need. Maybe Mikasa will finally agree to go out with me. Or maybe I should meet a new girl. One that doesn't have an annoying adoptive brother.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

By the time we finished our meals and returned from our food comas it was dark outside. Eren, Armin, and Mikasa went off to their own dorms. Eren and Armin were lucky enough to share a room, bastards. I climbed up the three flights of stairs to room 104. At least I’ll get my exercise until the elevator gets fixed. As I yanked uselessly on the door handle I remembered my earlier mistake. My keys were still locked tightly inside my room. I slumped my head against the door out of pure frustration. Much to my surprise someone on the other side opened it up. I looked up to meet warm brown eyes framed by a familiar myriad of freckles. “Welcome home, Jean.”

“Marco? Wait, what’re you doing here?” I questioned, confused.

“This is my room. I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that you’re my brilliant roommate that left his keys locked inside the room,” Marco quipped raising one eyebrow teasingly.

“Shut up,” I snapped half-heartedly. I couldn't be angry, he was just too adorable when he was teasing me. Oh my God I did not just think of him as adorable, did I? Adorable. Marco Bodt. My roommate. What is happening to my life?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any comments or constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. My writing skills are very rusty. Also, I am my own editor so there are probably mistakes that will need fixing.  
> Look forward to chapter 2... extreme rock climbing training and try-outs!
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)  
> I'm going to tag anything related to this fic as #fic: sina uni


	2. Bite Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our boys are roommates! (Like you all didn't see that coming from a mile away). Enjoy movie night fluff. And also Marco is super duper sweet and helpful (maybe way too helpful sometimes).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry. I promised more about extreme rock wall climbing. These boys got carried away with their little date night, I mean... ahem... movie night. Enjoy some teasing and fluff and jeanmarco bonding.

**Chapter 2**

_Marco’s POV_

I stuck my key into the lock, twisted my wrist, and pushed the door open. Finding the light switch was still a gamble. The fixture in the ceiling glowed to life. My new roommate must have been here earlier. His belongings were still packed and strewn across his side of the room. The light reflected off of something on his desk. When I glanced over at it I realized with a sigh what it was. His room key. He must have left it here and locked himself out. I sprawled out on my bed and rubbed my stomach. “Gah, this food baby. Why did I eat so much?” I asked aloud as I stretched my arms over my head and let my mind wander back to earlier today. After I had left the new student orientation with Sasha and Connie we went wandering around the campus. It only took about fifteen minutes before Sasha was starving and convinced Connie and I to stop for food. We hit up a local burger joint just off campus because Sasha needed what she calls a “real potato fix”. Which is just Sasha for greasy french fries. Connie had no problems putting away his fair share of them too. They then coerced me to do the same. It felt good to eat at the time, but it was the food baby after that killed me. I had promised Sasha and Connie that after some R and R we would all meet up for some video games and hanging out at Connie’s dorm, but I felt bad leaving. It was pitch black outside and had been for some time now. My roommate still had not returned and wouldn’t be able to get in without his keys. Supposedly the RA had spares, but our RA was notorious for being hard to get ahold of on campus. Or so I had heard.

After some internal debate I shot a text to Connie to tell him I wasn’t going to his dorm tonight. I just had to stick around to let my roommate in. Surely he would be tired and want nothing more than to come back here and crawl into bed. Speaking of which… I glanced over to his side of the room. None of his stuff was unpacked. The bed was bare of all linens. Maybe I should set up his bed for him so he can just come straight back and sleep. I meandered over to the largest suitcase laying on the bed. The zipper was hidden behind a large tag. My curiosity got the best of me and I flipped it over revealing the name of my new roommate: _Jean Kirschstein_.

The guy who ran into me earlier was going to be my roommate? What were the odds? Well on a scale from “1” to “destiny” I’d give it a “breaking a vase and becoming 8 million yen in debt to a host club of devastatingly attractive guys”. Well, Jean wasn’t so bad looking himself. Behind the chronic bitch face was a softer one that blushed from the tips of his ears when embarrassed. I made a mental note to exploit every opportunity I had to make him turn crimson. It was adorable, and much better than his scowling. I went back to the suitcase in front of me. Upon unzipping it I found a mass of jeans and t-shirts. After I rifled through the top layer I found what I thought was a superhero t-shirt collection. To my surprise it turned out to be a superhero _underwear_ collection. I dropped the pair in my hands immediately. They had a Superman color scheme and the phrase “Man of Steel” on the waistband. I doubled over in hysterics. I never would have pegged Jean to be a comic book nerd. Especially not one that had nothing but superhero underwear. There didn’t appear to be a single plain pair in the bunch. No doubt mentioning this would bring a desired blush to Jean’s cheeks. Oh, but I went through his things without asking. I really only wanted to make his bed up. I could always just shove the clothes back in the suitcase and pretend like it never happened. I stared down at the clothes that now littered the bed and floor. I scooped them all up in my arms and proceeded to try and cram them back into the suitcase… unsuccessfully. How he had managed to fit them all in the first place was beyond me. I sighed in resignation and decided it would just be better to put them away in the closet for him. I dug through other suitcases to find some hangers creating an even bigger explosion of clothes. By the time I had managed to find them I had sifted through all of the bags. The bedding was in a deceivingly small bin sitting on the desk. I carefully hung his clothes and folded his giggle-inducing underwear collection into one of the built in drawers in the closet. I made quick work of setting up the bed, smoothing and tucking to create the hospital corners. My mother had always insisted that my siblings and I make our beds that way, neat as a pin.

I moved on to sorting out Jean’s school supplies and objects to store in his desk. The stereotypical laptop and notebooks didn’t surprise me; neither did the small stack of comic books and manga after the whole underwear discovery. However, what did surprise me was the copy of _The Phantom of the Opera_ in the original French. Clearly he must be able to read French then, probably speak it. His name was French after all, but I’m not one to judge. The story itself, though, was what surprised me. I didn’t think a story like that would be his cup of tea. He seemed like the man’s man type. Honestly I have never read _The Phantom of the Opera_ in the original French since I don’t understand French. The English version, however, is one of my favorite reads. Also, Gerard Butler as the phantom was drool worthy. Even if he was a psychotic killer on a rampage. And doesn’t that attraction perfectly explain my ex-boyfriends. I saved the simple task of plugging all of the electronics into the TV that had been placed in front of the window for last. It was just after I finished that I heard the door handle rattle, followed by a solid thud. That must be my new roommate now. I sauntered across the room, a smirk gracing my face. I yanked open the door, nearly causing Jean to fall inside. The look on his face and his stunned words were worth skipping out on going to Connie’s room.

 

~~~~~~~~

_Jean’s POV_

After our little tête-à- tête I pushed Marco out of the doorway. “Where’s all my stuff?” I asked staring at the significantly less cluttered, left side of the room.

“Uhm, well, I hope you don’t mind,” Marco began, blushing and ruffling his hair. “I sort of unpacked your things for you. I mean, I noticed that you had forgotten your keys. Then, when I looked at your bags I noticed they had name tags on them. I remembered your name from earlier. I thought I should stay here so I could let you into the room when you came back. Then it got later and I thought you might just like to come back and sleep. I-I’m sorry that was way too invasive. I shouldn’t have-“

“Thanks,” I cut him off. Complete and utter awkwardness aside I was actually kind of glad. I really hadn’t wanted to unpack all of that shit, and I told him as much. Marco smiled sheepishly.

“I like to clean. It relaxes me in a weird way,” he admitted. After a pause he added, “Nice underwear by the way. The Superman ones that say ‘Man of Steel’ are my favorite,” then snickered. I must have blushed fifty shades of red. My entire underwear collection was superhero themed.

“I am never going to forgive you for this,” I threatened. The deer-in-headlights look on Marco’s face was priceless and absolutely worth it. “Unless…” I drawled.

“Unless?” he prompted.

“Unless you tell me one really embarrassing thing about yourself,” I finished. Marco took in the shit-eating grin I had on my face and sighed.

“But… but… I don’t know. I can’t think of anything,” he responded.

“Try. There has to be something,” I retorted.

“Uhm, well, hmm, uhm, I guess I’m kind of afraid of dolls…” he mumbled. I didn’t know if I heard him right.

“What was that?” I asked.

“I’m afraid of dolls,” Marco said only slightly louder than the first time. I couldn’t stop the laughter. I doubled over clutching my stomach. I dropped down onto the bed still gasping in hysterics when I had the most brilliant idea. In my possession I had a horror movie, but not just any horror movie.

“’Beware the stare of Mary Shaw. She had no children, only dolls. If you see her in your dreams, be sure you never, ever scream, or she’ll rip your tongue out at the seam’,” I quoted.

“I don’t know what that means, but I don’t like the sound of it,” Marco said.

“You must atone for your sins. We are watching this movie,” I announced, flashing him the DVD cover. It was a good thing he set up my TV and DVD player already. This was going to be fun. “Hey, Marco, turn off the lights,” I called over my shoulder. I saw him out of the corner of my eye as he sighed and wandered over to the light switch by the door and flipped off the lights.

“Mind if I switch into my pajamas first?” Marco asked.

“Yeah, I mean. It’s your room too. Do what you want,” I replied nonchalantly. I decided to change myself while the DVD started. It felt good to peel off my shirt. I slid off my shorts and ducked my head into my closet to find a pair of my comfy basketball shorts. “Marco where did you put my basketball shorts?”

“Oh, they’re on the shelf second from the bot-“ Giggles erupted behind me.

“What?” I asked as I turned to look at him.

“I lied. _Those_ are my favorite pair of your underwear,” Marco snickered. They were Spider-man boxer briefs with the words ‘Bite Me’ written on them.

“These happen to be my lucky underwear, thank you very much,” I retorted as I whipped the nearest object (my pillow) at his face. I turned my back on him and snatched up a pair of shorts. After I yanked them on I turned back around. Marco had taken up residence on his bed, my pillow now clutched to his stomach. He had switched to shorts and a t-shirt when I wasn’t paying attention. He caught my eye and patted the bed beside him. “Ready for the movie?” I asked extra cheerfully.

“No,” he pouted.

“Great! Let’s get started,” I announced in the same blindingly bright tone. I plopped myself down next to Marco and hit play. The screen lit up on the opening scene. Every horror movie always starts out so cheery looking. We came to the part where, for the first time, all of the sound warps and cuts out. “Remember, the movie is called Dead Silence,” I whispered into Marco’s ear making him jump. He let out a barely audible whimper and curled himself into my side. I couldn’t stop the laugh. As the movie continued Marco buried his face further into my pillow and also buried himself further into my shoulder.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

By the time the credits began to roll all I could see was a sliver of freckled forehead. “You can look now it’s over,” I said. He peered sheepishly over the edge of my pillow. In the pale light of the TV I could see how ruffled his hair was. Marco slowly extricated himself from my side. The loss of his warmth was noticeably unpleasant. He stretched up his arms and grunted. As he did so his shirt lifted ever so slightly revealing that he was indeed covered in freckles. The asymmetrical speckles wove their way down around his side, lower, disappearing into his shorts. My eyes followed them as if they were a trail of bread crumbs leading to my desired destination. Ugh, fuck that. I was no Hansel… or Gretel for that matter.

“I am never going to be able to fall asleep tonight,” Marco mumbled. I chose that moment to stumble my way through the dark room to turn off the TV. My ears caught the sound of a yawn betraying his fib.

“You’ll be fine,” I told him as I wandered over to my bed and collapsed into it. I hadn’t realized just how tired I had become myself. “Marco…pillow,” I said reaching out my hand blindly, not even bothering to lift my head and look at him. The sudden, soft thwack on the back of my head came as a surprise.

“That was revenge for throwing it at me earlier,” Marco informed me with a lazy smile as he ducked under the top sheet in his bed. I grabbed at the pillow, tempted to throw it back at him, until I caught the smell. It was dark, musky, with a pinch of cloves, but underneath all of that was a hint of… lavender. The pillow must have taken on Marco’s smell while he held it throughout the movie. I resigned for the night, tucking the pillow underneath my head and succumbing to the soothing smell. My eyelids were heavy. I tried to lift my covers up to slide under my top sheet as well.

“What the heck? Why can’t I get under my covers? What magic voodoo is this?”

“It’s not voodoo, they’re hospital corners,” Marco explained.

“Whatever. Now how do I un-voodoo them?”

“Just pull them out from under the mattress,” he laughed then followed with another yawn. I used the last bit of my consciousness to pull my covers free from their prison. A wave of calm, quiet, dark comfort washed over me as I slid my top sheet in place over my midsection. On hot nights I liked to leave my legs and upper body bare. I couldn’t sleep unless at least my stomach and hips were covered. There was probably some psychological babble bullshit reason behind that quirk, but I saw no reason to argue with it.

“Goodnight, Marco,” I whispered as sleep consumed me.

“Sweet dreams, Jean,” he replied softly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)  
>  I'm tracking the tag fic: sina uni  
> Go talk to me. Also leave any comments here too please. I didn't beta this (muahaha you are all now my guinea pigs). So if you find errors or have suggestions or constructive criticism leave it for me.


	3. Extreme Rock Climbing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Extreme rock climbing practice ahoy (finally).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My laptop has moved on to a better place. I tried to salvage it. And this chapter. No such luck. So I'm finally giving in, buying a new laptop, and starting over.  
> Also you might as well go on and open this page up now: http://24hoursofhappy.com/  
> And maybe also this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glossary_of_climbing_terms  
> Probably this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtAs0otuvKI  
> Top it all off with: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzybwwf2HoQ

**Chapter 3**

 

_Jean's POV_

"Hey toss it over here!"

"Go long!"

"Try catching this one!"

I rolled over in my bed and groaned. Damn college kids. Damn sunlight. Damn smell of freshly cut grass. The sound of the door handle jiggling floated into my ear drums along with "Clap along if you feel like a room without a roof. Clap along if you feel like happiness is the truth. Clap along if you know what happiness is to you. Clap along if you feel like that's what you wanna do." I turned to stare incredulously at the newest source of my morning angst. My roommate, Marco. His back was turned to me, a cup in each hand, his earbuds firmly wedged in his ears. Happy? Happy was not how I would describe how I was feeling. Why did he have to be a morning person? Why? "Oh, Jean! You're up," he said as he turned back to face me pulling out his earbuds bashfully.

"How could I possibly sleep with all of this racket this early in the morning?" I deadpanned.

Marco glanced at the clock on his desk, then back at me. "Jean, it's ten am."

"Exactly. It's only ten am," I replied, ducking my head under my pillow in a vain attempt to block out the atrocity people called sunlight.

"Wakey wakey, sunshine. I brought you the miracle of piping hot caffeine." That perked me right up. "It's just black coffee. I hope that's alright. I didn't know how you took it so I brought some cream and sugar-" his speech halted as I snatched up the offered cup and downed three gulps.

"Thank you Freckled Jesus. I take it black," was all I uttered before returning to drowning myself in the black lava. He just laughed.  Marco set about pulling an assortment of muffins, bagels, and cream cheese out of his backpack.

"Help yourself," Marco said as he gestured to the miniature buffet.

"Muffin me," I said, holding my hand out.

"Do you like your muffin buttered?" then after a pause, "Would you like us to assign someone to butter your muffin?" he finished giving a quick wiggle of his eyebrows. I couldn't stop the laugh that bubbled out of my mouth.

"Seriously? It is too fucking early for Mean Girls quotes," I snickered. Marco resigned and handed over a blueberry muffin.

"That was a roommate test. I'm happy to inform you that you've passed. Congratulations!"

"Yippie fucking skippy."

"So... what are your plans for the day?" he asked.

"Well I suppose I should head to the indoor facility and practice," I mumbled around chunks of muffin. Attractive.

"Practice? For what?"

"Try-outs for the competitive extreme rock climbing team. They're next week. I need to step my game up. I am here on an athletic scholarship for that after all," I boasted.

"Jean, that's amazing. You must be really good at it to be  _here_ on a scholarship for that." His sincere compliment made me blush and duck my head. I scratched the back of my neck in an attempt to relieve some of the tingling sensation the rush of blood brought on.

"Th-thanks. I mean, I wouldn't say I'm great. Better than Jaeger at least."

"Jaeger. You mean your friend, Eren?" he asked.

"Friend? Ehh. Obnoxious, adoptive brother of the girl I had a crush on all throughout high school and all around douche waffle is more like it." Marco laughed. "I guess we did become friends along the way. Doesn't mean I'll ever stop rubbing it in his face whenever I beat him in a climb. What are your plans for today?"

"Hmm, well... I suppose I have to make it up to Springles for ditching them last night. I also need to pick up my textbooks for all of my classes," he said as he seemed to scan his mental checklist.

"Yeah, I need to get all of my textbooks still too. Maybe we can meet up later and head over to the campus bookstore together? You could just give me your number and I could text you after I finish my practice? Wait... Springles?"

"Connie and Sasha," Marco explained. "Connie's last name, Springer, mixed with Pringles. Pringles was Sash's nickname in middle school because she loves potatoes so much... don't ask... They've been attached at the hip since even before they started dating. It was just easier to refer to them as one entity. But, anyway that sounds good. Toss me your phone I'll put in my number," Marco punctuated his words by opening up his palms to catch my phone. After he typed in his number he tossed it back. I busied myself with getting into comfy clothes while Marco slathered up a bagel. I tossed a change of clothes and my personal 3D manuever climbing gear (like hell I was using some junk ass harness that other sweaty people wore) into my duffle bag and wandered to the door.

"Bye, Marco."

"See ya later, sunshine!" he smiled brightly. I choked out a disgusted noise probably caused by the butterflies that turned in my stomach. A frown crept onto my face and I yanked the door shut behind me.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

The walk to the indoor facility was short since it was on the same side of campus as my dorm. I opened the door and was greeted by the smell of stale sweat, rubber, and chalk dust. The building was large. The main foyer was tiled and chilly. A red-headed receptionist sat behind a counter. "Hello!" she called. I returned her greeting as I walked closer. "Have you ever been here before?" she asked clearly reading the lost look on my face.

"No," I admitted.

"Do you have your student ID on you?"

"Uhm, I think, somewhere, ah here!" I flashed her my ID.

"Allow me to show you around then," she smiled. "I'm Petra, by the way."

"Jean," I offered as we shook hands. Despite her angelic features she had a firm, steady grip.

"Well, Jean, as you can see this is the main entrance. If you look through the glass to your left or right you can get a glimpse of other people using our amenities. Behind me on either side of the receptionist's desk you'll see two doors. These lead to locker and shower rooms, the left for women and right for men. If you wander through you'll see a door on the other side that leads to the climbing area.  Stash your stuff in a locker, take the key, and I'll meet you out on the other side. We parted ways and I wandered into the men's side. I chose a random locker, pulled out my harness, and stashed the key in my pocket. There were a few guys changing and some using the shower area. It was simple, clean, white. I stepped through the door at the back of the room. The climbing walls covered every available inch of the U-shaped room; the tops of them several stories high. "On our left is all of the stereotypical climbing walls. We have both belay and auto-belay options. Easier tracks are towards the middle while harder tracks are at the end. They're marked with tags; purple being easiest, then blue, green, yellow, orange, and finally red at the most difficult. Here in the center you can rent any gear you may need, however it seems that you won't have to worry about that," she said eyeing my harness. "Also, judging by your gear you are probably more interested in the right side of our facility designed for extreme rock climbing. Each wall has it's own safety tether. However, there is an advanced area that has a foam pit floor and no tethers." My eyes wandered over to the advanced area. Two guys, a bulky blonde and a really tall looking brunette, were smoothly scaling  the faces of adjoining walls. Maybe I'll work my way up to that once I'm more familiar with the place.

"I guess I'll start somewhere in the middle. Thanks for showing me around," I smiled at her.

She smiled back. "Of course, Jean. See you around?"

"Yeah." I waved as I turned to find a spot to slide into my harness. The straps ran head to toe. I pulled it over my arms onto my shoulders first. The straps crossed in the back and affixed to another strap that slid around my waist. More straps sprouted from there and crossed over my ass and split into loops that buckled around my thighs. The final set sprawled down my legs to loop under the arch of my feet. I hooked the metal propulsion unit to my hip strap at my lower back. My climbing lines shot from metal boxes that hung at my hips. The final preparation was to slide my climbing shoes back on and chalk up my hands. Can't have those getting sweaty on me.

I strode over to the extreme side and selected a green track to test. The bottom looked fairly simple, but the top certainly provided a tad more of a challenge. It wouldn't be a problem as long as I wound my way up in an S-shape. I connected the safety tether to the X on the back of my harness and took the triggers for my lines and throttle in each hand. The cold metal a welcome calmness against my sudden nerves. I didn't want to embarrass myself horribly on my first day here. I took a deep breath and hoisted one foot out of the rubber shavings that covered the ground. There was a large peg just off the floor to secure it on. I raised my right hand and shot my line up a good several feet. Out of habit I gave an experimental tug to test it's hold. No slipping, perfect. I used the grip to leverage my body completely off of the ground. I had to shift my right foot a tad to secure my balance. My left found a higher purchase to even out my weight between my two sides. I shot my left line up to a peg about a foot higher than my right line and pulled it taut. From there it was a quick succession of jumps, reeling in my line and engaging my propulsion unit to gain momentum as I went. As I came to the inevitable point where I'd almost caught up with my right line I released it and sent it back out many more feet above my head. My left line followed soon after and I set about finding foot holds along the diagonal line up I had mapped out. In no time I was flinging myself in a final arc up to the top of the wall when my foot slipped. I had misjudged the distance between my last peg and the next. Only the very heel of my foot grazed it as I had given too much gas. There was a moment of weightlessness as my stomach was introduced to my chest cavity. I couldn't find a new peg. The safety tether caught my weight, pulling me just away from the wall as it lowered me to the floor. I was forced to reel my lines in and accept my defeat. A green track had bested me. A green track! That was only a middle level. How could I ever make the competitive team when I couldn't even do that much. By the time my feet hit the rubber I was disgusted with myself. I dropped my triggers down at my sides and went about trying to disconnect the damn safety tether. I fumbled with it in my anger.

"Oi, brat." I looked up to find Levi Heichou wandering towards me. Great. He probably saw that miserable failure. Now I really won't ever make it on the team. "If you break that safety tether your little allowance money is going to buy me a new one." He glared and crossed his arms over his chest. Despite his height, I would not fuck with the man. He was downright scary if he wanted to be.

"Sorry. I just... sorry," I sighed.

He took a breath. Five seconds in and ten seconds out through the nose. How did I know that? I was familiar. My therapist had taught me to use that. Somehow it did not surprise me that Heichou had anger management problems. "Look kid. You got too cocky at the end there. You overshot your foothold. Try again." I was about to refuse, but the look in his eyes told me I ought to do as he said. I turned back to the wall and set up my climb again. This time I was more familiar with each jump. I knew which foot holds had worked best and which ones I needed to change. I reached the top of my final arc up again. This time with less gas I managed the jump easily and leapt up to hang from the lip of the wall. I hoisted myself up to sit and look over the entire gym. My heart thudded in my chest. It swelled with the pride of my victory. My adrenaline and endorphins coursed through my body giving me the natural high I craved. Levi Heichou looked even tinier from up on the wall. For a moment I even thought I saw a small smile grace his lips; silly. I slid off allowing the safety tether to bring me back from the heavens down to earth. "Not bad, kid. Keep practicing," he called over his shoulder as he walked away from me. I couldn't stop the grin that tugged at the corners of my mouth. I turned back around determined to conquer this track as fast as possible now that I knew some of it's secrets.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

The warm shower felt like bliss to my tired muscles. I got out and toweled myself off. As I was pulling my clothes out of my locker I felt a hand clap on my shoulder. "Hey, that was some pretty good climbing I saw out there." I turned to see bulky and blonde from earlier. "My name is Reiner Braun, and this here is Bertholdt Fubar," he added gesturing over his shoulder with a jerk of his thumb. Tall and brunette stood behind him. I turned and reached out for a hand shake.

"Jean Kirschstein. Nice to meet you. You guys looked great out there."

"Well I hope we'll be seeing you up there with us on the advanced tracks. You climb like a natural. I'm captain of the competitive extreme rock climbing team here by the way. Bertholdt is the vice captain. I hope it's not too forward of me to ask if you're planning on trying out?" Reiner said the last statement with a questioning inflection.

"Ah, yes, actually I am," I admitted.

"See, Bertholdt, I told you. I felt it in my gut. I just knew he was going to. I don't know why you thought we would weird him out." Reiner laughed heartily while Bertholdt mouthed a sorry behind his back. I couldn't help, but laugh at their absurdity. "Well try-outs are on Friday. Results will be posted the following Monday here on the bulletin board in the main entrance. Catch you later," he boomed as he strode out of the locker room.

"See ya, Jean," Bertholdt mumbled before catching up to Reiner and lacing their fingers together. Well... that whole conversation was unexpected. I guess I should probably text Marco now. I pulled out my phone and scrolled through my contacts to the "M" section. No Marco. What the hell? I saw him type in his number this morning. I quickly slid back up to the top and slowly scrolled through my list. When I hit the "F" section I found what I was looking for.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

_Marco's POV_

 

After Jean left I pulled up my group text with Sash and Connie.

_Me: How about I take you both up on the video games now?_

_Connie: I don't know. After you dipped out on us last night? What do you think Sash?_

_Sash: Hmm. I dunno. Maybe you should get on your freckled knees and beg for our forgiveness._

I rolled my eyes at their melodramatic responses. Theatre majors. I quickly slumped down onto my knees and gave my best puppy dog pout. After drawing in some ridiculously blue tears I sent the snapchat to both of them.

_Sash: Awww. I can't say no to that face._

_Connie: Ugh, fine. Wanna meet up at my dorm in like an hour?_

_Me: Sounds good to me. See you soon._

_Sash: Me too. Bye!_

I pulled a t-shirt and shorts out of my closet since it was still too warm to wear real pants. Stuffing the last of my bagel in my mouth I headed out the door for a quick shower before I went to Connie's.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Sasha was already there when I arrived at Connie's dorm. "Do you live here or something?" I asked her.

"Well if you must know I do not. I spent the night, but went back downstairs to my room to shower and change just for you, Marco," she cooed as she pinched my cheeks.

"Eww. I didn't want to know that."

"Well I wouldn't think that would be a surprise after that party last summer when you walked in on Connie and I-"

"Ah, no! Don't remind me," I interrupted. "I'm scarred for life by that mental image." Sasha just laughed and Connie joined in. "Theatre majors. Leech on people's emotions."

"And don't you forget it!" Connie chimed in. "Let's get to some gaming now!"

"I thought you'd never ask," I retorted. We started off with some Halo and COD. I'm pretty sure that was just to punish me some more. At least I'm mediocre rather than horrendous at them both now. After that I convinced them to break out the Mario Kart Double Dash. I cracked my knuckles and picked up the familiar indigo controller. I was always Luigi and Paratroopa. Even when I'm in first place (which is almost always) I get my specials. Connie opted for Bowser Jr. and Baby Mario. Sash picked Baby Luigi and Diddy Kong. "Hmm, now which track should we race on? This one perhaps?" I suggested jokingly.

"Hell no. Rainbow Road is always last. You know that. That's a fight to the death. No mercy. Let's do Baby Park first," Connie rebutted.

"Fine," I said as I selected the track. All three of us got the starting boost and flung ourselves around the first turn. Sasha immediately planted a giant banana right in my path. There was no avoiding it. "God damn it, Sasha, already? Fuck you and your giant banana!"

"Liar. You love bananas. The bigger the better," Connie said as he nudged me with his elbow.

"Yeah, we all know tacos aren't your thing," Sash added giggling.

"I hate you guys," I laughed. My kart zoomed out in front when I got a nice little surprise. "Eat my acid bitches!" They both groaned as the green balls bounced into their karts.

"Bitch, huh? Well try this on for size." Sash said as she unleashed her special chain chomp. "I'm a boss as bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch. I'm a boss ass bitch, bitch..." she sang gleefully while Connie joined in.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Some time later we called it quits and had a final race on Rainbow Road. I won. I usually did. In fact I had won all, but one race today. And that one I only lost because Connie got a bullshit blue shell and then chain chomp on the last lap that pulled him ahead. I told him as much. Sasha had managed to attack Connie mid race on Rainbow Road and they were still lying in a giggling heap on the floor. I cleaned up the controllers and turned back to them. "That was fun."

"Yeah, fun for you maybe. You win all of the time, and yet-"

"You still curse worse than a sailor!" Sasha finished for Connie. "How is it that you have the most perfect, little angel mouth except for when you play Mario Kart?" she asked.

"I dunno. Must be some form of video game fueled road rage," I admitted.

"So," Connie drawled slowly, "you never did tell us," Connie spoke as he shared a look with Sasha.

"Tell you what?" I asked completely confused.

"Why you ditched us last night," Sasha supplied.

"O-oh. I just... my roommate. You remember that Jean guy right? Well we're roommates. He sort of forgot his keys so I stayed to let him in the room when he came back. Our RA is almost never around. I thought it'd be nice. And then we watched a scary movie together. I forget what it was called. Something about creepy puppet dolls. And the sound just warps out. And she collects tongues. And-" I shuddered unable to finish that train of thought.

"Wait! Woah woah woah. Are you telling me... that your new roommate got you to watch a scary movie? But not just any scary movie. A scary movie with dolls in it?" Connie asked.

"Connard!" Sasha accused.

"Okay. I don't have to be fluent in French to know what you just called me. What's with the death glares?" I questioned.

"How long have we been trying to get you to watch a scary movie? Forever. How many times have you denied us? Every time," Sash pouted.

"This Jean must be pretty special to get you to do that," Connie mused.

"Well he is pretty hot if the weird two-toned hair is your thing," Sasha thought aloud. "So what do you say Marco is two-toned hair your thing?" They both stared at me, beguiling grins on their faces.

"No, no, and no-er you two," I said.

"Aww come on. When was the last time you went on a date? And now you've already had a movie date with your hot new roommate?" Sasha whined.

"It was not a date. We just hung out. I sorta had to make it up to him because I... well that's not important," I insisted. Jean? A date? I mean, yeah, he was easy on the eyes, and those piercings, and the fact that under the jock exterior he's a total nerd, and-no, nope, not starting that. "I'm just not ready for that yet." Connie and Sasha exchanged a knowing look. I didn't have to tell them why I wasn't ready for a relationship, or even to start dating again yet. Sasha simply patted me on the back. Mama Sash to the rescue as usual.

"I need a glass of lemonade after that mini gaming marathon. Anybody else?" she offered.

"Me," Connie and I called after her in unison.

Sasha returned with two bottles in one hand and a glass in the other. "Alcohol-licious for Connie and I, and a virgin for Marco, virgin lemonade that is," she smiled sweetly. I just rolled my eyes and accepted the glass. It was shortly after that that my phone vibrated in my pocket.

_Unknown: Really? You added yourself as Freckled Jesus in my phone?_

I laughed at my own joke. That was pretty brilliant. However not as brilliant as what I added him as in my phone.

_Me: You can't tell me it's not true. You said so yourself._

_Sunshine: Your freckled ass better be able to walk on water and turn said water into wine._

_Me: Alas, I can only turn water into Gatorade._

_Sunshine: Haha, I like Gatorade better than wine anyway. You lucked out on that one._

_Sunshine: So I'm done with my practicing. Wanna meet up to grab our books? Maybe we can grab some dinner after? I'm starving._

_Me: Sounds good to me. I'll head over to the bookstore now._

_Sunshine: Okay see you there._

"You're ditching us for another date with Jean?" Sasha's incredulous voice rang loudly in my ear.

"Oww, Sash. Don't do that. Were you reading over my shoulder?" I asked as I quirked an eyebrow at her.

"You didn't reply when I was talking to you. You were so wrapped up in talking to  _Jean_ you didn't even notice me when I came up behind you," she laughed. I could just feel the blush crawl up my skin at being caught being so wrapped up in my conversation. "Now get out of here or you'll be late for your date!" she encouraged. Connie hauled me up to my feet and they both shoved me out of the dorm room.

"It's not a da-"  _SLAM_. Well alright then. It's still not a date. I turned to start my walk towards the bookstore.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Jean was standing outside when I arrived. His hair was still a bit damp from the shower he must have taken at the rock climbing gym. "We're you waiting long?" I called as I approached him.

"Nah, just got here myself. Shall we?" he asked, gesturing inside. We both wandered into the bookstore, each pulling up our required books lists on our phones. The bookstore was well labeled so nothing was too hard to find. Jean insisted on carrying all of our books. "It's fine."

"No, textbooks are heavy. Don't lie to me. Especially mine. Mine are all of the heavy subjects too," I insisted. Jean just shrugged it off and kept pace. As we neared the end of our lists I asked "so, where were you thinking of grabbing dinner?"

"Honestly I don't care. I just need food in my stomach before it devours itself," Jean replied. "We could always grab some Chinese take-out and stuff our faces back in our room."

"How did you know Chinese take-out was my weakness?" I clasped at my heart and put on an expression of mock shock. Jean just laughed almost spilling our textbooks everywhere. I caught the books awkwardly between us setting off my own giggling fit at the near disaster.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

We managed to escape the bookstore without incident and were turning my desk into a dinner buffet. Orange chicken (my choice), sweet and sour chicken (Jean's choice despite the fact that I had already picked a chicken dish and thought that would be chicken overload), fried rice, white rice, spring rolls, and sauces decorated the wooden expanse. I nearly drooled in my excitement. I pulled some paper plates and plastic silverware out of my hidden snack bin under my bed to use. "You don't eat with chopsticks?" Jean asked me, eyeballing the set I held out to him.

"No. I really should learn. Eventually. Until then I'm going to be  _that_ guy who eats with a fork," I explained as I speared some orange chicken to cram in my mouth.

"Thank Freckled Jesus because I cannot figure out chopsticks for the life of me," he laughed doing the same. We each took portions of every available food and began happily munching. "So Marco... Do you play any instruments?" Jean asked out of the blue.

"Did you just- Are you really- The questions game? Really? Are you 14?" I teased.

"Excuse you. Maybe I want to learn a little bit about the guy I am being forced to share a room with for the next several months," he snapped back half-heartedly. I nudged him with my shoulder causing him to drop his spring roll into his lap. He pouted, actually pouted, before popping said dropped bite into his mouth and shooting me a wicked grin. "5 second rule. But seriously, I know like nothing about you. So why not?".

I sighed. "I play a little piano. My mother is amazing at it. She taught all of my siblings and I to play as well. She's definitely the best at it though. You?"

"Can't play a thing. Unless you count the recorder I played when I was 10." I shook my head, negatory. "Okay, you know how this works. Your turn to ask a question," he gestured at me while he took the chance to stuff more rice in his face.

"Uhh, what song do you belt out in the shower?"

"You ask that like you assume I do sing in the shower," Jean speculated.

"Everyone has at least one guilty pleasure song they sing in the shower. This is fact. Now spill," I countered.

"You may be surprised to hear that I have a soft side, despite my totally punk and hardcore exterior." I just snorted at that. "So I may have had a weakness for Hilary Duff in my youth. And I may or may not still know every word to  _What Dreams Are Made Of_ from the Lizzie McGuire Movie," he finished hiding his face with another spring roll. I could not stop the snorting laughter that erupted from my mouth. "It is not funny, you jerk! What's yours anyway?" I surreptitiously pulled out my phone and began tapping away at the screen.

"The one I probably sing the most is _I'm a Slave 4 U_  by Britney Spears." My love of Britney songs is no big secret. "Her dance moves are definitely better than mine though," I add with a laugh. "Hey, Jean, you should call me."

"What the fuck? Why?" he asked utterly confused.

"Just do it. You'll see."

"Ugh fine," he surrendered. After some tapping and a brief moment of silence we could hear the music begin to blast from my phone:  _Then I see you smiling, I go oh, oh, oh. Yesterday my life was duller. Now everything's technicolor. Hey now! Hey now! This is what dreams are made of._ "I will kill you here and now, Bodt. Did you seriously set that as my ringtone?" I just smiled back at him innocently. "You do realize this means war, right?" he whispered as a devilish grin slid across his face. "My turn. Marco," Jean purred, sending a chill down my spine. I gulped audibly. "Are you perhaps ticklish?" he asked as he began crawling towards me.

"N-no," I stuttered automatically.

"Now, Marco, this game doesn't work if you lie to me," he cooed. He was so close now that his breath raised goosebumps on my neck. The quiet whimper that escaped my lips was completely involuntary.

"M-my butt. My butt is ticklish," I admitted. I felt the puff of air that accompanied Jean's laughter. He collapsed on the floor at my side, flailing and rolling around like some sort of tipped turtle. "You suck," I spat back at him without any real heat.

"You cannot be serious."

"Unfortunately, I am. Makes for really awkward subway trips when the cars are crowded. Just one little brush and everyone thinks I'm a weirdo," I sulked. "What's your ticklish spot? And I swear if you say you don't have one I will saw your head off with a toothbrush."

"Alright, alright. I have one. Totally not as entertaining as yours. My back is ticklish. Especially like my spine," Jean yawned. "Ugh who votes we give up on the question game for the night and go to bed?" he said raising his own hand.

"Me," I said as I felt the heaviness in my own eyelids. How had it gotten so late? We packed up the rest of the take-out and stuck it in the tiny fridge Jean had nestled in between his desk and bed. Jean ripped off his shirt and shorts, flinging them who knew where. Hulk boxers tonight I noted. I stripped myself, actually throwing my clothes in my hamper, while Jean turned off the lights. As he bent over to pull back his sheet I snuck up behind him. I ghosted my fingers up his spine. "Sweet dreams, sunshine," I whispered in his ear. I felt rather than saw his responding shiver. Two could play at that game. Before he could think to retaliate I turned and slunk into my own bed. Jean didn't even turn to look at me. He just climbed into his own bed.

"Goodnight, Marco," he called softly, his voice a tad gravely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of their muffins is not buttered. Did I drop enough hints? I'll let you guess which.  
> Again this is not beta-d. Let's be honest it probably never will be. As always if you find errors, have comments, or constuctive criticism let me know.  
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)  
> tracking the tag: #fic: sina uni


	4. Starlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Allow me to take the opportunity to up the rating. And also try-outs for the CERC (competitive extreme rock climbing) team! And fluff. Grotesque amounts of fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to everyone who has read this fic. I honestly never thought that even 10 people would end up reading this. Let alone a few hundred! I'm dying in a land of happiness and greatfulness. I hope you all don't mind that this isn't updated regularly because life happens. So thank you thank you thank you *hugs*
> 
> Also don't worry about the minute jearmin. I promise this is a jeanmarco fic.

**Chapter 4**

 

_Jean's POV_

 

I could feel warm breath float over my ear. Fingers wandered up and down my bare spine. They were gentle, soothing. Soon the fingers turned to hands, and the hands turned into a full body pressed flush against mine. "Jean," whispered the rich voice. The mouth switched to sucking on my earlobe. A tongue traced up the outer shell, flicking at my industrial bar piercing. Teeth nipped at the top, tugging lightly. I couldn't help the involuntary gasp of air I sucked in. "Jean, look at me," instructed the husky voice. I rolled over and came face-to-face with chocolate colored eyes framed by stars. No, not stars, freckles. My eyes fluttered closed as a feather light kiss was dropped at the corner of my mouth. More kisses were trailed along the line of my lower lip. I sunk my hands into his soft, short, hair, pulling him in firmly and pressing a proper kiss to his lips. I tugged at the strands in my grip causing him to moan into my mouth. My tongue took the opportunity to surge in and swirl around his own. His tongue countered with slow stroking motions in and out of my mouth. A lewd mockery of what was to come. I captured the tongue between my lips sucking on it, then swapped to suck his plump lower lip into my mouth to nibble at. He hummed at the sensation. A large hand slid down my back to cup my ass. My hips were ground into another set sporting a hard erection that mirrored my own. We released each other's lips as we groaned in unison. The sudden friction seeming to catch even him by surprise. Too much. Not enough. I shoved him completely onto his back, hovering over him. I dove in to lick and suck at his neck while I swung a leg over to straddle his waist. His hands locked onto my hips as I lowered myself to brush against the obvious bulge in his underwear. "Ahh," he panted. And again. "No teasing," he said as he swatted my ass. His hand was placed back on my hip as he brought our pelvises to grind together. Even latching my teeth onto his shoulder didn't muffle my resulting throaty groan. We rocked together, leaving no air between our flushed bodies. The thin fabric of our underwear did little to separate me from the heat I could feel coming off of his erection. I bit my lip trying to contain the little yelps of pleasure. "No. Let me hear you," he cooed squeezing my ass firmly with both of his hands. "I want you to scream my name," he commanded just before sitting up to nibble at my hard nipples in turn.

"Mmm, mah, ahh, hah," I puffed. The stimulation making me lose the ability to form coherent words or sentences.

"Close, sunshine. Let's try again," he mumbled against my chest. His mouth wandered north to my hypersensitive ears. He nipped and tugged. His hips thrust up into mine with a slow rhythm. My erection brushed against his stomach with every stroke of his body. One of his hands slid to push a finger against my puckered hole.

"Ahh! Marco!"

 

I woke up earlier than any sane person would want to. Before even Marco. The green glow of my clock told me it was 5:49 am. My body felt sticky and upon remembering my dream I realized it was not just from sweat. It was probably a good thing that Marco wasn't up. I shuffled out from under my covers. As much as I hated to even think about being vertical at this god awful hour, it was even less appealing to lay around in my own...yeah. I snatched up some clean shorts, underwear, and my shower supplies.

 

The boys' shower was not surprisingly empty. Good. The last thing I needed was for someone to see me like this. A wet dream? How embarrassing. I hadn't had one since I was in high school. I remember, it was the day I had met Mikasa. She had featured in that particular unconscious fantasy. Clearly she was not the headliner in this one though. The deep voice. The large hands. A penis. Freckles. Not only was my wet dream about a guy. It was about one very specific roommate of mine. The rose color that tinted my cheeks had zero to do with the steamy shower I was occupying and everything to do with the thought of facing Marco after that. I hadn't even known the guy a week and I was already... Something was severely wrong with me. I scrubbed at myself vigorously with the soap, hoping in vain that I would be able to forget the dream, his sounds of pleasure, the way his hands felt when they held my hips with near bruising strength... Nope. Nope. Bad Jean. We do not have smutty thoughts about our angelic roommates. I spun around three times chanting "Homoerotic thoughts be gone." Call me crazy, but I felt much better after that when I shut off the water and stepped out into the cold tile bathroom. I wandered back down the hall to our room to deposit my showering supplies. I was not going to chance going back to sleep right after that. Burning my taste buds with obsidian gold seemed to be the best solution. I tossed on a sweatshirt, grabbed some money, and wandered out into the gray morning.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Luckily there was a small coffee shop on campus that opened early. I heard the tiny bell chime as I pushed the door open. The smell of roasted wonderfulness greeted my nose. Ordinarily Marco woke up before I did. He always made the morning caffeine run. And despite my attempts to pay him back for my coffee, he never accepted any money from me. I resorted to stuffing bills into his shorts pockets for him to magically find the next time he wore them. I suspected he knew that it was really me putting the money there, but he never said anything. "Good morning!" called a bespectacled brunette from behind the counter. Her hair was pulled up in an efficient ponytail and the name tag she wore on her apron proclaimed her to be "Hanji". The name sounded familiar. I shrugged it off and walked up to the register. "What can I get for you?" she asked. Just like Marco she was too bubbly at this time of day.

"Could I have a large coffee, black, and a large chai tea latte." That was Marco's drink of choice as I had come to learn over the past couple of days. Probably the saint's only vice. Hanji laughed.

"That's funny. You know another young man with the most adorable freckles comes in every morning to order the same thing. He doesn't usually come in until later though. He has the nicest manners. I've always wondered who else he was buying coffee for. The name he always gives me for his companion's cup is sunshine," she trailed off. I shook my head and chuckled at the sound of my nickname coming out of someone else's mouth. It didn't have the same ring as when Marco said it. "Anyway, name for the coffee."

"Jean."

"And name for the chai tea latte." Without even thinking I knew my answer.

"Starlight." A look of amusement flitted across Hanji's face as she wrote on a second cup. 

"Alright they'll be up in just a minute." I stared off into space at the assortment of baked goods. As delicious as they looked my stomach wasn't awake enough yet to even think about eating. "Here you are, dear," Hanji interrupted my internal monologue.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing the cups and wandering back out the door.

"Tell Marco I say hi!" she called after me. I couldn't stop the laugh that escaped my mouth.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

After nearly spilling both of our drinks all over myself while trying to open the door I managed to get inside the room without incident. Marco yawned and stretched in his bed. His dark hair matted and swirled in all the wrong ways. It was the only time of day that his hair wasn't coiffed to perfection. No one else got to see Marco like that. Except maybe his immediate family.  "Good morning, sunshine. You're up early," he mumbled groggily.

"Yeah, had trouble sleeping. So I bought the caffeine this morning." I glanced at the cups to see which one was his and it was then that I noticed what Hanji had done. On my cup she had written "sunshine" with a tiny "Jean" in parenthesis. And on the other was "starlight" with a tiny "Marco" in parenthesis. Marco shot me a look of confusion at the sigh I heaved. I turned the cups around so he could read each one for himself. His laughter was bright and punctuated by a small snort. He grabbed his cup and took a long sip. I plopped down at the foot of his bed to take a drink of mine.

"So... starlight?" he questioned without diverting his attention from his chai tea latte. I should have expected that to come up. I decided hiding my blush behind a long chug of my coffee would be most effective. I hissed at the searing heat that numbed my tongue, bad idea that was. I took a moment to clear my throat.

"Hanji says hi."

"So, starlight was Hanji's idea?"

"Uhh, well, no, I mean.." I trail off lamely. I can't tell him that it was the first thing that came to my mind. After the dream.

"Okay, how about this, why starlight?" he laughed, clearly guessing for himself that I'm the one that came up with the cheesy nickname.

"Because of your freckles," I mumbled to my coffee lid.

"My freckles?" Marco asked genuinely confused.

"They're like little skin constellations." He said nothing, but raised an eyebrow at me that told me he questioned my mental capacity. "Ugh, here, just..." I trailed off as I turned to his desk and grabbed a permanent marker. I set down my cup and yanked his left arm over across my lap. After a quick look over I decided on a smattering of freckles on his inner forearm just below the wrist. I uncapped the marker and made some quick lines between the tiny brown dots. "There. See?" I tilted his arm back towards him as proof.

"It's a wonky, three-sided rectangle?"

"No. See that's lyra, the harp. The lyre was given to Orpheus as a gift from the  god Apollo. They say that he could always be heard playing for the love of his life, Eurydice. His music was so beautiful that every being, even rocks and trees, stood still to listen quietly to his music. On the day of their wedding Eurydice was being chased by a satyr. While running away she fell into a pit of vipers. One bit her, poisoned her, and caused her death. Orpheus was so distraught over the loss of his love that he traveled to the underworld in order to beg for her back. Hades made him a deal. Since he was so enamored with Orpheus's lyre playing, he could have Eurydice back, on one condition. She would walk out of the underworld behind him. He had to make it beyond a dark forest before he was allowed to look back at her to make sure that she followed. If he looked back before they made it out, if he doubted Hades for even a moment, he would take her away forever. Despite agreeing to the deal Orpheus worried for his love. Near the edge of the forest he stopped hearing her footsteps behind him. Fearing that she was too weak to make it, he turned to check on her. Before he could even blink Hades pulled her back to the underworld. It's said that he never recovered from the loss of his beloved."

"I heard he was so upset that he switched to the pursuit of boys instead. And the people were so angered by this that they killed him and tossed his lyre in a river," Marco deadpanned. 

"Excuse you. Way to ruin the beautiful love story," I shot back. Marco snorted.

"The only beautiful, pure, genuine love story in all of Greek mythology is Narcissus... with himself." I couldn't help but laugh at that.

"You dork did you seriously just make that lame of a joke?" I shoved him away in mock disgust.

"Well I figured I should prepare myself for my Greek mythology class. How else will I be able to motivate myself at 9:30 am?"

"Wait did you say Greek mythology class at 9:30 am? Is it Mondays and Wednesdays in Trost Tower room 200?"

After a brief pause Marco narrowed his eyes and replied, "Yes, why?"

"I'm taking that class."

"You're kidding. That's great then we can study together!"

"Ugh. Studying. Don't even remind me. I don't want to even think about it." I grumbled. 

"Well I guess you have a few more days before you need to worry about that. In the mean time, your CERC team try-outs are today,right?" I hummed an affirmative. Marco had seen me spend days away at the climbing facility practicing. I had managed to work up to trying the red climbs (the ones without the safety tethers) a few times. I felt good, but there was a churning in my stomach. This was important. What would I do if I didn't make the team? I received an athletic scholarship, but that didn't guarantee me a spot. I had to earn it. To prove that I was worth the scholarship. I don't know who came up with such an asinine idea, but if I ever met them I'd kick their ass. Marco's phone blared "Peanut Butter Jelly Time". "Hey, Sash, what's up?" he answered. "No...Yeah I've been up... Yes he's with me...Yes he's awake...Uhh, let me ask him. Sasha wants to know if we want to go have breakfast in the dining hall with her and Connie," he directed the last bit at me.

"Uhm, sure, why not, when?" I answered. He turned back to his phone to direct that question at Sasha.

"In like half an hour?" I nodded yes and wandered over to my closet to find something to wear. Knowing the way Springles eats I decided on work out clothes since I would probably have to go straight to my try-outs after. I packed my usual bag to take with me. I heard Marco say goodbye to Sasha then gather his things to go shower. I wasted time on tumblr until he came back. As I gathered my shit to head out the door Marco stopped me. "I want you to have this for today." He pulled a silver chain over his head. I had never noticed him wearing this before, but it was tucked down his shirt out of sight. Looped on it was a claddagh ring. It looked to be sterling silver. Maybe a white gold. A fucking jewelry expert I was not. "It was my grandfather's wedding ring. I inherited it when he died. It's been my good luck charm ever since," he explained.

"Oh no. I can't take something so precious. Are those real diamonds in the crown?" I said eyeballing the two small gems.

"Just take it," Marco decided for me, placing the chain over my head. "Plus, I wouldn't be a real Scottsman if I didn't have a back-up claddagh," he added, lifting his shirt to show me the truth of what he said. There inked into the skin just below his belly button was a similarly styled claddagh. Okay how had I not noticed _that_ before? Without thinking I reached out to trace my fingertip along the heart in the center. The sound of him sucking in a breath punctuated the stagnant air.

"Sorry," I apologized and pulled my hand away. Visions of last night's dream skimmed across my mind's eye. Marco laying underneath me. Marco grasping my hips. Marco arching up into my body. My stomach took that opportunity to growl. We both laughed. Good timing stomach, high five. "Come on starlight, my stomach says it's time to go eat some breakfast," I called as I started towards the door. Marco followed at my heels, still chuckling.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

It was hard watching Connie and Sasha eat. Eat wasn't the right word. Bulldoze, maybe. I had barely made a dent in my omelet and (technically second) cup of coffee. Marco had chosen waffles and some orange juice. Not even half of his first waffle was gone. Springles, on the other hand, had mutually devoured five pancakes, four sausage links, eight slices of bacon, one full omelet, and a cup full of fruit because Marco made them. Speaking of fruit cups... I eyeballed mine. Marco had taken it upon himself to plop one next to my plate as well. I pouted. "Jean, finish your fruit," Marco said, sensing my trepidation.

"But I hate blueberries," I whined.

"Eat the blueberries."

"Your face eats the blueberries."

"Your mom eats the blueberries."

"Your dick eats the blueberries." Sasha and Connie burst out laughing.

"Can we not talk about dick while I'm trying to eat my sausage?" Connie pleaded.

"Wow, Connie, I didn't know you were that flexible," Sasha proclaimed with a wiggle of her eyebrows. The look of sheer betrayal on Connie's face made me choke on my coffee. We all laughed.

"Guys can we not use the word dick at the breakfast table?" Marco begged.

"Oh come on Marco, we all know how much you love the sausage," Sasha teased.

"Yeah, we all know you don't have a taste for tacos," Connie added. I didn't have to look to know the groan and thud was Marco giving up and dropping his head on the table. Hmm, so Marco was interested in men. I filed that information away in my ever growing Marco folder.  _Maybe I have a chance. To act on that dream I had. To be with Marco. To be more with Marco._ No. Bad, Jean. Ugh. How many times do I have to tell you. No smutty thoughts about the deliciously freckled roommate. Now, I may be against kicking a man while he's down, but I could not pass up the opportunity to dump my blueberries into Marco's fruit cup. "So, Jean," Connie began, "which do you prefer? Sausage or tacos?"

"Or both," added Sasha.

"Or neither," finished Connie. I should have seen that coming.

 "I-I-uh. Got any room under there, Marco?" I pleaded as I tried to lift Marco's arm off of his head.

"Nope. You brought this on yourself. All you, sunshine," came Marco's muffled reply. Damn. I looked back and Connie and Sasha. They were glancing between Marco and I. A wave of scarlet crept up my face as I realized he had used my nickname. Other than Hanji, no one else knew he called me sunshine. Springles propped their heads on their fists in unison. The looks on their faces were far from innocent.

"I-uhm-you see-" the sound of "Moves Like Jagger" cut me off. I hurriedly  reached for my phone. "Eren, good morning. How are you?"

"Are you sick?" came Eren's muted voice.

"No. Why would you ask that?" I replied, completely ignoring the dual stare I was receiving from across the table.

"One, you called me Eren. Two, you used the phrase  _good_ morning. Three, you asked me how I was doing. And four, you sounded genuinely happy to be talking to me."

"Eren, don't be mean to Jean," came Armin's voice in the background.

"Fuck you. I was trying to be nice. Would it kill you to be a polite human being for two seconds?" I growled.

"You fucking did not. You did not just-Armin, did you hear that? I..." Eren's voiced faded away and was replaced with a much calmer one.

"Hello, Jean. Are you ready for try-outs today?" Armin inquired.

"Hi, Ar. Yeah. Ready as I'll ever be."

"Good. I wanted Eren to call  to see if you wanted to hang out with us afterwards. Play video games. Eat food. Unless you have plans already..." he trailed off.

"N-no, that sounds like fun. Count me in."

"Great! We should meet up at the facility. I told Eren and Mikasa I would wait in the lobby and try to watch you guys."

"Sounds good. I'll see you soon then." I hung up without waiting for Armin's reply.  "Well, as fun as this has been, I have to go now. Try-out time. See you guys later!"

"Good luck, Jean," Marco called after me. I looked back to see him pinching a spot on his shirt. I dully realized that must be the spot where the ring hung. I pinched at it myself. Still there. Alright little good luck charm here we go.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Mikasa, Eren, and Armin were already at the facility when I arrived. "I hope you brought tissues because my climbing is going to be so beautiful you'll cry," Eren shot at me. Mikasa sighed.

"Did you make sure to check the climbs for tiny woodland creatures. We don't want a repeat of the "man-eating" squirrel incident," I replied sarcastically with air quotes for extra emphasis.

"Enough." That shut us both right up. As much as we ragged on each other there was a limit. One did not disobey Armin. "I'll be over here cheering you guys on," Armin said as he wandered over to the bench under the observation window. "Have fun!" The three of us turned to head in. I waved a hello at Petra as we walked through to the locker rooms. Once on the other side we suited up and joined a small crowd. Heichou stood at the center. You couldn't see him, being tiny as a mouse and all, but you could hear his razor blade voice cutting through the din of the facility.

"Alright brats it's nine am. Anyone else that comes in after is late. No try-outs for them. Now listen carefully because this is how it's going to go. Each of you will sign in on this sheet of paper. Write your name legibly. If I can't read it you don't try out. Each person gets three climbs. One yellow, one orange, and one red climb in the foam pit area. You may also choose what order you do your climbs in. Reiner, your team captain, Bertholdt, your vice captain, and myself will judge each of you. Bertholdt will oversee yellow climbs, Reiner the orange, and myself the red. I want one person climbing and seven people in line at each color to start." Reiner handed Coach Levi back the paper and pencil that had made its round. "Okay as I call your name you pick a starting point." Eren went straight for the red. Mikasa followed after him. I chose to start with an orange. After we were all sorted we began. When I reached the front of the line Reiner greeted me warmly and clapped a hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, Jean, I'm glad to see you made it."

"Of course. It's my thing," I laughed.

"Alright. Show me what you've got," he said gesturing to the wall.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

The try-outs were over. I was pouring sweat, but to be fair so was everyone else. I guzzled down the water bottle that had been handed to me. My climbs had been decent. I never fell. Which was more than I could say for Eren. The idiot fell off of the fucking yellow climb. He got too cocky. Mikasa was perfect as always. Her climbs were always mind blowing. "Alright. We've seen everyone. We will discuss this weekend. Results will be posted on the bulletin board in the lobby on Monday morning at nine am sharp. You're all dismissed." With that Heichou turned and walked away. Reiner and Bertholdt followed closely behind. I immediately unbuckled my harness and ran to grab a shower. I could hear the other guys talking about how they thought they did. My arms and legs ached. The hot water helped, but the nervous tension lingered in my muscles. Once I emerged from the locker room Armin pulled me into a hug, then moved on to the other two.

"You all did great. There's no way you won't make the team," he beamed.

"Thanks, Ar," we chorused. We all made the short walk back to Eren and Armin's room. Once there Mikasa volunteered herself (and Eren despite his protesting) to pick up a pizza. I splayed myself out on the floor. Armin put on some Pandora station then turned to me. The way I rubbed at my biceps didn't escape his notice. He knelt down by me and nudged at my side.

"Roll over." I complied. Once on my stomach I stretched my arms above my head. Armin settled himself on my butt and began rubbing his hands up and down my back. This was our routine. So many times after large competitions or strenuous practices Armin would rub my back. He did the same for Mikasa and Eren. I sighed, relaxing into his touch. Honestly I loved this. Sometimes I even lied about how sore I was just to get Armin to rub my back. Despite how sensitive it was, or perhaps because of how sensitive it was, I felt most at peace when Armin rubbed my back. I arched up into his touch. His palms kneaded circles into my shoulder blades. Then his fingers skidded down my spine. I squirmed at the tickling sensation. He dug his thumbs into the small of my back. They formed sloppy figure eights, ebbing away at the throb in my muscles. "Hey Jean?"

"Hmm?"

"You seem extra tense today. I know you're stressed about the try-outs and everything, but is there something on your mind?" I thought for a moment. The dream I had about Marco had shaken me. Leave it to Armin to pick up on that. I didn't want to talk about it. But, I probably should. I could hear my old therapist's voice echoing in my head. Some shit about not bottling up my feelings. If there was anyone I could talk to about this it would be Armin. I groaned in defeat.

"I had a weird dream last night," Armin said nothing, but continued rubbing my back. "About Marco," I admitted after a pause.

"Oh? Weird how?"

"Uhm, well, it was kind of, maybe, sort of, a sex dream..." I mumbled to the floor.

"How is a sex dream weird?" Armin asked genuinely curious.

"Because! He's a dude. And he's my roommate. And I don't know it's just weird!" I blabbered. Armin laughed. Armin laughed! "Don't laugh it's not funny I'm confused!"

"Jean," Armin gently lifted up his body to roll me over. He plopped himself in my lap and leaned over to stare me in the face. "Think about this for a moment. Does homosexuality, bisexuality, asexuality, or even heterosexuality just magically attack you one random day and make you that way?" I stared at him blankly. Where was he going with this?

"No. They're like born that way," I said slowly.

"Exactly. So say a person suddenly feels like they are attacked with sudden gay thoughts. Gay urges. Gay desires. Wouldn't your guess be that the gay was there all along?" he suggested.

"I-wuh-uh..." I stuttered intelligently. And then it clicked. Somehow, all too easily, the things I had so quickly dismissed rushed to the forefront of my mind. Things I had thought and denied in an instant. That one guy back in high school. Thomas Wagner. We were lab partners. Every day I had the almost uncontrollable urge to kiss him. But that was just like eighteen year old curiosity right? But what about those dreams? Ones like the one I had about Marco. Where a guy is rubbing up on me and I'm enjoying it. I always told myself the following morning that I just genderbent myself or some shit in my dream. No homo. But, that wasn't true. I was regular old me. What about that kid back in first grade? The one with the adorable little mole on his cheek. I really, really wanted to be his friend, and hang out with him all of the time, and I thought he was really cool, and he wasn't bad looking. But he wasn't nice. I pulled the wool over my eyes and never saw just what a snot he was. Almost like when you have a crush on someone... And look at me now. Here with Armin. In my lap. Cuddled up together like always. It's no secret that Armin is gay. I always thought this closeness was just us being friends. I'm closer to him than any other friend I have, and friend I've ever had. Maybe a little closer than necessary, but that was because he was gay. Not me. Right? Shit. I stared up at Armin and made a pathetic whimpering sound. Armin simply wrapped his arms around my neck and nuzzled my cheek with his. I held him tightly.

"How are you doing? Are you okay?" he asked quietly. I nodded. Well, okay. So maybe I have a thing for guys. I kind of knew this all along. It's not like the thought hadn't crossed my mind before. I just always had some excuse for why I wasn't. It's not like I ever had a problem with anyone of the not straight persuasion. But, I've definitely liked girls. I mean I had a huge thing for Mikasa for years. Am I gay? Bi? Ugh, no. Too much for one day. Liking guys is enough. Let's just stick with that for today. It was then that Eren and Mikasa decided to return.

"Hey, horse face, what do you think you're doing? Don't touch Armin like that!" Eren yelled. I dropped my arms to my side. We must have been quite the sight. We had always been familiar, but perhaps this was a new level of bonding in each other's personal space. Armin, however, did not let go. He merely turned towards Eren and stuck his tongue out.

"Jealous?" Armin teased, wiggling even closer to me. I laughed. I needed it. Armin knew it. He was being silly for my benefit. Armin released me at Eren's pouting. "Come on. I'm hungry," he said righting himself and wandering over to Mikasa and the beloved pizza. I felt more at ease after my talk with Armin. That was what he was good at, making people feel better. With each slice of pizza and each round of Halo I felt lighter.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

_Marco's POV_

 

The sky had just taken on a dark hue when Jean returned to our room. He was all smiles. His demeanor was far more relaxed than this morning at breakfast. "Hiya, sunshine. How did the try-outs go?" I asked him.

"Ahh. Not bad. I mean, I feel like I did well. I didn't fall. Even on the red climb I had to do," he told me. "Oh, before I totally forget. Here," he said as he pulled grandpa's ring out from where it was tucked in his shirt and over his neck.

"Ah, thank you." I tucked it back in it's usual spot where it brushed at my collarbone. I turned back to my movie while Jean rustled around in his closet for pajamas. "Today for you. Tomorrow for me. Today for you. Tomorrow for me!" Fwap. The sudden pillow to my face was a surprise. "Excuse you. Were you not enjoying the way I serenaded you?"

"Psh. You call that serenading?" he teased. "I thought I heard a cat dying." The mortified gasp that left my mouth as I clutched at my chest was Broadway worthy. Connie and Sasha would have been proud.

"I'll have you know my singing is wonderful. So mleh," I said sticking my tongue out at him like a mature adult. There was silence between us as the dialogue on screen continued. I couldn't help but sing along again. "The cymbals won't delay, but the cable-"

"There's another way. Say something-anything."

"Test one, two, three?"

"Anything but that."

"This is weird." I looked at him and furrowed my brow.

"It's weird."

"Very weird."

"Fucking weird."

"I'm so mad that I don't know what to do. Fighting with microphones. Freezing down to my bones. And to top it all off I'm with you."

"Feel like going insane? Got a fire in your brain? And you're thinking of drinking gasoline?"

"As a matter of fact-"

"Honey, I know this act. It's called the tango Maureen. The tango Maureen!" I could not stop the laugh as Jean started mimicking the awkward dance moves. We continued exchanging lines until the words dropped out. He just wiggled his eyebrows at me, throwing his dirty clothes in the corner dramatically. I followed suit by tossing his pillow away somewhere unknown. I stood beside him as he extended his hand to me. We hopped together, danced and stepped in mirror with the duo on screen.

I ended it with a perfectly delivered, "You should try it in heels," and dropped him down on the nearest bed. Which turned out to be mine. "You dork. You huge dork! Do not give me crap about singing along when you know all the words, and the _dance moves_ , too." I lifted his legs and plopped myself down on the bed, replacing his legs over my lap. He sat up and scratched at the base of his neck.

"Okay so maybe my ex-girlfriend made me watch musicals sometimes." I raised an eyebrow at him. "Okay, so maybe I was in choir in high school." I cocked my head for added effect. "Okay! So maybe I love musicals and I've watched them so many times that I know every step, I know every song."

"I almost don't believe you, but the fact that you just made an obscure, but perfect, reference to another musical has me convinced," I replied. "Oh my gosh! The book makes so much more sense now!" I nearly shouted.

"Which book?" Jean asked, completely confused.

" _The Phantom of the Opera_. The French version. The one I may have stumbled upon while unpacking your stuff on that first day..." I said with a blush. Jean grew redder than I was.

"Funny story. My mother insisted I read the book. She said it was a classic, one I had to read at least once in my life. It's one of her favorites. At first I read it to humor her, but then... I fell in love with it. That's kind of how I got into watching musicals. It was the first one I ever watched. After that I decided to rent other musicals and watch those. You know, back when Blockbuster still existed. My mom and I bonded over them," he explained.

"That's really sweet Jean," I smiled. He echoed it with his own. Then mine morphed into more of a smirk as I said, "Who knew you were such a momma's boy?" He frowned at me.

"I am not!"

"You so totally are. But it's cute. In fact I find that really attractive in a guy..." Oops. Did that just come out of my mouth? I looked at Jean's mildly flustered face as he struggled to find words to respond with. Yup, it did. I cleared my throat and turned my attention back to the movie. 

It wasn't much longer when Jean whispered, "This is my favorite song."

"No way. Mine too! Live in my house. I'll be you shelter. Just pay me back with one thousand kisses. Be my lover. I'll cover you."

"Open your door. I'll be your tenant. Don't got much baggage to lay at your feet. But sweet kisses I've got to spare. I'll be there and I'll cover you."

Then in unison, "I think they meant it when they said you can't buy love. Now I know you can rent it. A new lease you are my love, on life. Be my life!" His smiling was infectious. I hadn't noticed how close we had become. After breathing out the last lyric I realized. As the commercials say, we weren't in public space, or personal space, we had ventured into ice breakers space. I flushed and pulled back. Jean seemed just as self-conscious, but never removed his legs from my lap. The rest of the movie went along without further awkwardness. As the credits began to roll I could hear a softer noise. I looked over at Jean. His eyes were closed and the sound was his snoring. He looked so peaceful. His try-outs must have really worn him out earlier. I didn't have the heart to move him and risk waking him up. Instead I laid him down flat. I got myself up slowly to turn off the TV and the lights. I figured it would be easiest just to climb into Jean's bed since he had stretched out to fill up mine. His pillow was still laying discarded on the floor. I tossed it on the bed and turned to throw a sheet over Jean. After I curled up in Jean's bed I whispered to the other side of the room, "Sweet dreams, sunshine."

I could have sworn I heard the faint reply of, "Goodnight, starlight," before I drifted off to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will Jean make the CERC team!? (...Of course he will. What kind of story would this be if the hero didn't succeed at like literally everything he tried to do and then some. Just humor me and wait for next chapter...)
> 
> Holy balls. That's the longest chapter I've written yet.  
> "How did you know you were gay?" People would ask me. Well... basically the same way Jean just figured it out. Pretty much.  
> Also, can you tell what movie I was obviously watching while writing part of this chapter?  
> If you understood the other musical reference Jean made, I love you.
> 
> As usual: concrit welcome.  
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)  
> tumblr tag: #fic: sina uni  
> See you next shingeki time!


	5. The First Monday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Classes Day 1!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual thank you for reading my ramblings on probably my favorite shingeki duo. I love you guys. This chapter was originally longer, but I'm splitting this into the next one because these boys just got way too chatty. Don't worry, you'll forgive me for splitting it once I finish the next chapter (hopefully).

_**Chapter 5** _

_Jean's POV_

 

 The only thing worse than waking up to the sounds of college kids enjoying themselves was waking up to the sound of my alarm. If I didn't set it to be obnoxiously loud it would never wake me up. After shutting that piece of shit up I yanked my sheet over my head in a failed attempt to ignore the fact that today was Monday. The first day of classes. The first Monday of many. Ugh. Why did I choose to be a functioning member of society? The only thing that drove me out from my cocoon was the need to find out the CERC team results. I felt confident about my try-out, but I needed to see my name on the list to be sure. I tossed my pillow on the floor in a fit of defiance. Luckily, Marco was up and gone already. Caffeine run. I had never been more grateful for his generosity than in this very moment. I figured a hot shower was my best option while I waited for him to come back.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

When I opened the door upon my return I could hear music. I stepped over the threshold still towel drying my hair. "Morning, starlight. Sleep well? Great. Caffeine me," I said holding out my hand blindly. When no cup was immediately placed in my waiting grasp I peeked out at my roommate from under the towel. His eyes were unfocused as he stared at me. "Earth to Marco. Come in, Marco," I called waving my hand in his line of vision. His eyes instantly snapped up to meet mine. A wash of rosiness flowed from his cheeks to the edges of his freckled face.

"G-good morning, sunshine. You're wearing clothes," he said still half-stunned.

"Uhm, yes. I wear clothes. I wear clothes every day. So do you," I pointed out. To hell with it. I snatched my own coffee from Marco's desk.

"Oh, yes. Of course you wear clothes. I mean... just not... you usually wear sweats or basketball shorts." I looked down at the outfit I had thrown on today. Admittedly I did have a penchant for not wearing real pants if I didn't have to. I decided that I might as well put a little effort into how I looked on the first day of classes. Today my shirt was my red and black flannel layered over my V-neck, black t-shirt. My pants were actually my favorite pair of black skinny jeans, held up by my seat-belt belt. I had been told on more than one occasion how amazing my ass looked in these. Time to test that.

"I decided to wear my favorite jeans to commemorate my first day of school," I tossed over my shoulder nonchalantly as I sauntered over to put away my shower supplies. I watched him out of the corner of my eye as I passed. His gaze followed my every step. Once I reached the closet I could not stop myself. "They say that I have the best ass below Fourteenth Street. Is it true?" I sang.

"Huh," he replied unintelligently.

"You're starin' again," I finished. He chuckled after the lyrics set in and pouted at me.

"It's too early for RENT!" I ignored his protest. Test concluded, and I couldn't say the results didn't give me butterflies. I was in over my head with this one. "Oh, I almost forgot. Today you find out the CERC team try-out results, right?" he asked.

"Yeah, I've gotta run soon so I can be there at nine." I started throwing my binders for my classes in my backpack. Just as I was about to run out the door Marco called after me.

"Wait, Jean. Good luck. You'll make it though, you don't need me to tell you good luck. And take a muffin with you at least. I'll see you in Greek Mythology!" I did take his advice and ran down the three flights of stairs (seriously does no one know how to call an elevator repair man?) with a muffin hanging out of my mouth. I was a couple of minutes early since the climbing facility was so close. I glanced at the bulletin board, nothing yet. Petra waved at me and smiled.

"Good morning," I greeted her.

"Good morning, Jean. Ready for the CERC team results?" she asked.

"No," I said automatically, then amended myself, "yes."

"Don't worry, Jean. A little raven told me you have nothing to worry about." I scrunched my forehead in confusion at her words. Her eyes had drifted to something behind me. I turned to see Coach Levi stapling a sheet of paper to the bulletin board. I recognized a few of the people huddled behind him from the try-outs.

"Thanks, Petra." I turned to face the source of my never-ending anxiety. I guess never-ending wasn't accurate. Technically it was about to end. A new anxiety would be born after I checked that list. Either I have pressure to improve for competition. Or have pressure to change my future because I can't even make the team. My feet dragged along the floor. I couldn't manage to lift them. I felt like I had accidentally put on my cinderblock shoes instead of my converse. I wiped my clammy palms on my thighs as I approached the board. The crowd that had already gathered cleared as each read the list. Some jumped up and down before sprinting off. Others turned around to direct their empty, soulless gazes at me. Right at the top of the list was Mikasa's name. Not a shock. What was a shock was the fact that the name right under hers belonged to me.  _Jean Kirschstein._ I could have cried with relief. Could have. I totally didn't, though. Not a millisecond later, an unwanted weight settled on my newly weightless shoulders.

"Mikasa! You made it! You too, horse face! And me!"

"Jaeger! How the fuck are you this loud this early in the morning?" I yelled back. I'll have you know, having someone shouting in my ear at just past nine am made me a tad testy. I shrugged him off and wandered over to where Armin was hugging Mikasa. There was a rare smile on her face when he released her. "Congratulations," I told her.

"Same to you. I have to get to class. I'll see you guys later," she turned before she even finished speaking.

"Congratulations!" Armin said excitedly. He squished me in a hug and I yanked him off the ground in a far more bone-crushing grip. "Ahh! I surrender!" he squealed as I put him down gently. Eren came flying out of nowhere.

"You keep your filthy hooves off of my Armin," he said as he slung said young man over his shoulder.

"Eren!" Armin shrieked. His face was cherry tomato red. I could not stop the gut wrenching laugh that exploded from my mouth. Eren didn’t even hesitate. He walked off in the direction I assumed their first class was in. “Eren. Oh my god! Put me down. You’re embarrassing me! Eren!” I could see Armin surrender to the inevitable when his whole body went slack, just hanging.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

As soon as I walked into the classroom Marco waved at me. “You nerd. Seriously?”

“What?” Marco asked clearly confused.

“You picked the seats, in the front row, right in front of the professor’s desk? Nerd.” I teased.

“Well excuse me for wanting to be able to see the board well,” he retorted rolling his eyes. “But more importantly… how did it go? Did you make it? You don’t seem to be wallowing in a deep black hole of depression so I’m going to assume you did?”

“Yes, yes. I made it,” I laughed.

“Oh I knew you would, but that’s great. I’m so happy for you,” he gushed. Just then the door to the room banged shut. A brunette whirlwind flew to the front of the room in a flurry of papers.

“Good morning everyone! My name is Zoe Hanji. You can just call me Hanji, or professor, or hey you. This is Greek Mythology. If you’re not supposed to be here get out while you can,” she paused here to smile. “Oh look! My two favorite boys. Give me a hand and pass out the syllabus to everyone,” Hanji then directed at Marco and I. Well, no wonder her name rang a bell in the coffee shop. Her name was on my class schedule. She was my professor. Great, if sitting front and center didn’t mark Marco and I as teacher’s pets that sure as hell did. She split a stack of papers between the two of us which we then distributed around the room. “Thank you boys. So, I know you all know how to read, but I also know that this is the first day of class and if I try to start a lesson none of you will absorb anything. Instead we’ll just go over the rules and expectations for the rest of this semester.” I tuned out at that point and doodled nonsense on my sheet of paper. Every so often I glanced over at Marco. Naturally, he was paying attention to every word Hanji said. When she dismissed us for the day I noticed that my syllabus was magically covered in little constellations. I deliberately did not think about the subconscious inspiration for that.

“So,” Marco turned to me, “where are you headed next?”

“Uhm, I have Criminal Justice with Mike Zacharius. What about you?”

“I have Intro to Psychology with Professor Nanaba.”

“Cool. I guess I’ll see you after class?” I said questioningly.

“Yeah, I’m busy this afternoon, but can I buy you dinner tonight as congratulations for making the CERC team?” he asked.

“Sure. Thanks. Sounds good to me. Text me later,” I said as we parted ways.

 

_Marco’s POV_

My second class of the day went much the same as the first. Nanaba introduced herself and the only thing we accomplished was going over the syllabus. Sasha, Connie, and I had made plans at breakfast to meet up again at the local burger joint for lunch. “Hey, Marco, over here!” Sasha beckoned me from a booth in the corner. The place was crowded with college kids. Looks like we weren’t the only ones that needed greasy food therapy after our first day of classes. “Hey there pumpkin. How were your classes?”

“They went well. Obviously I like Hanji my Greek Mythology professor. My Psych professor Nanaba seems nice too. How did you both like your classes?” They both babbled excitedly about their first class. The two started later in the day than I so they could sleep in. Connie and I abandoned Sasha at the table to get our food. After we sat back down and began stuffing our mouths I thought aloud, “I wonder where I should take Jean out to dinner.” That made Sasha halt, a handful of fries half way to her open mouth.

“Care to run that by me again?” Connie asked.

“Ah, oh, well he made the CERC team. I thought I’d take him out to a congratulatory dinner, my treat, but I don’t really know where.”

“Hmm, that sounds suspiciously like a date to me. Sasha, what do you think?”

“You’re right Connie, that does sound awfully similar to a date to me,” Sasha replied. They both gave me eerie grins.

“Guys it’s totally not a date.”

“You’re right. Totally not a date. I mean who doesn’t platonically offer to take someone they’re ridiculously attracted to out to a nice dinner on them?” Sasha teased. I groaned.

“Come on you guys. We already discussed this. Yes, Jean is hot, but it’s not like that,” I refuted. “Seriously, where should I take him?” They both kind of shrugged. None of us really knew the area yet.

“Uhm, actually I heard about a place. These girls in my class this morning were gossiping about this place called… Maria’s Bistro. One girl’s boyfriend took her out to dinner there this weekend. Google it,” Sasha suggested. Upon looking up the website I found out that it seemed to be a nice little Italian restaurant. The reviews were pretty decent. The menu seemed to be pretty stereotypical.

“That actually looks perfect, thanks.” I said.

“So what are you going to wear on your not date?” Connie asked.

“I hadn’t thought about it? I mean I guess I’ll just wear this?” I said unsure.

“Unacceptable. We are going back to your room right now to pick out an outfit for you,” he declared.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Luckily when we arrived back at the room Jean was nowhere to be seen. I dropped all of my stuff on my desk. Springles followed suit. Both of them immediately dug into my closet. I put on some music because everyone knows that you need music to complete an outfit finding montage. Sasha dug out an older pair of black jeans. They had to be a size too small because they hugged me like saran wrap. Connie found a deep red button up. Sasha squealed when she discovered my leather jacket. Then Connie dug out some old black boots I had and threw them at me. I stood in front of the mirror once I had assembled my ensemble. The obnoxious catcalls started up behind me. “Oh my gosh you guys. Shut up,” I laughed.

“Dude, you look hot. I might do you,” Connie said with an exaggerated wink and eyebrow wiggle. We all burst into a fit of laughter and didn’t hear the door to the dorm open.

“Woah.” I turned around to see Jean standing in the doorway staring at me. Okay, I was probably going to have to thank Sasha and Connie for insisting on dressing me. I smiled sheepishly at him.

“Hey sunshine. Ready for dinner?” Before he could answer Sasha piped up.

“No. Marco go sit in the hall. Jean, your turn,” she said hauling him over to his closet while Connie pushed me out of the room. As he shut the door in my face I swear the look Jean gave me screamed “help me”.

 

_Jean’s POV_

“So, here’s the deal,” Sasha started, “Marco is my baby. I will kill you if you hurt him in any way, shape or form. Now, we need your help.” She lost me.

“Uhh, what?”

“You like Marco right?” Connie asked. I blushed. I really shouldn’t. I mean… I’ve known the guy for a little over a week. He’s just so sweet, and adorable, and fucking hot, and those freckles oh my god. “You do. I don’t need you to say it out loud, but here’s the thing. Marco, he’s… guarded,” he finished.

“Huh?” I cocked my head at him.

“Look he’s… I mean… those are stories Marco himself will have to tell you. He hasn’t had the best track record with previous boyfriends. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something about you just seems familiar. I feel like I know you. And when I see you and Marco together, I feel like déjà vu, like you’re supposed to be connected. I can’t really explain it. Who knows maybe we knew each other in a past life,” Sasha paused to laugh. “I’m sorry that probably just really freaked you out.”

“No. I mean. I know what you mean. Sometimes I feel that way too. Like I’ve known someone for years when in reality I’ve only known them for a few days,” I agreed. Sasha just nodded and looked over at Connie. He wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled back at her.

“Well, enough wasting time. You have to look hot if you’re going to try to charm the pants off of Marco,” Sasha announced, bouncing over to my closet. I shrugged in defeat and let her and Connie throw my clothes around. They both agreed that I should keep the pants I already had on (told you, my ass just looks great in them). They found my shin-high, black boots and a simple black button up. After braving the depths of my closet Connie found my royal blue, military-style jacket that I’d forgot I even had. They both had a good laugh at my underwear. Today’s selection was black and yellow with the bat symbol shining on my crotch. Sasha tried to smush my hair down once I was fully dressed, but I drew the line when she attempted to use her spit to slick it tame. The duo, approving my appearance, shoved me out the door.

“Okay kiddos, have fun, but not too much fun. Jean have Marco home at a reasonable time, he has school in the morning. Ya’ll be safe now you hear?” Connie said as he tossed Marco his wallet and keys. The idiots had the audacity to link arms and skip the whole way to the stairwell out of sight. I just looked at Marco.

“How many years have you been friends with them again?”

“Too many,” Marco sighed, shaking his head. “You look nice,” he offered.

“You uh, you do too.” Well don’t I just have a way with words tonight. “Shall we?” I gestured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How are you all feeling about this? Any concrit is welcome.  
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)  
> the tumblr tag for this fic is: #sina uni


	6. Maria's Bistro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Date night. Italian food. Fluffcapades.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops my fingers slipped...

**Chapter 6**

_Jean’s POV_

Marco had driven us to a small restaurant not far from campus. Maria’s Bistro. I had never heard of it, but who doesn’t love some stereotypical Italian food? Luckily since it was a Monday night it wasn’t busy at all. We were seated immediately by a pissed-off looking brunette girl. She had freckles just like Marco, but they didn’t make her look nearly as cute. Maybe it was the chronic bitch face she sported that ruined their effect. “Ymir” her nametag read. She was probably a university student working for extra money. Woo, poor college kid syndrome. The booth she gave us was isolated in a corner of the restaurant not far from the kitchen. Ymir plopped down our menus as we slid in. “Your server will be with you shortly,” she deadpanned.

“Thank you,” we chorused as she stalked off.

“Well, isn’t she just a ray of sunshine,” I commented.

“Takes one to know one,” Marco murmured as he browsed the menu.

“Excuse you!” I laughed. “I am always a wonderfully happy, bubbly person to be around.” Marco just snorted at that. Anyone that had ever socialized with me before 11 am and my cup of coffee knew better than that. I took a look at the menu myself. Pretty typical stuff.

“See anything you like?” Marco asked. I looked up and ended up locking eyes with him. Yup, definitely something I like. So much for promising myself I was not going to crush on my roommate. Then again, Springles did just give me their blessing… if that’s what you want to call that. They probably knew Marco better than anyone and if they thought I had a chance then maybe… Marco’s face contorted into a look of concern. Oh shit, staring too long. Probably should answer that question he asked me.

“Yeah, uhm, this apricot chicken sounds really tasty.”

“Way to pick something from the calorie conscious menu,” Marco teased.

“Rude. I am trying to watch my figure,” I retorted. We both laughed just as the waitress walked up to our table.

“Good evening. My name is Krista and I’ll be your server tonight. Can I start you both off with something to drink?” she inquired. I looked at Marco.

“I’ll just have a water,” he said.

“I’ll have raspberry lemonade,” I told her.

“Wonderful. Are you both ready to order or did you need a little longer?”

“I’m all set. You?” I directed at Marco.

“Yeah I’ll have the pasta in marinara sauce,” he said handing her his menu.

“And I’ll have the apricot chicken,” I shot Marco a look that dared him to comment on it again. He just chuckled behind his hand while I handed the blonde girl my menu as well.

“Alrighty. I’ll put your orders in and be back with your drinks in just a moment,” Krista told us before bouncing off.

“So, how was the rest of your day?” I asked.

“Not bad. My second class went pretty well. Much the same as the first. The professor seems pretty nice. Connie, Sasha, and I had burgers for lunch and then, well, you know very well the torture I was subjected to,” he replied. I laughed.

“I do know unfortunately.”

“How was the rest of your day?”

“Well, not bad actually. My professor for my second class is so weird though. Like, he’s got this thing where he smells people. Rumor has it that he can smell crime from a mile away.”

“No way!” Marco laughed.

“Way. He works part time for the local police unit’s special task force, the Survey Corps, or something like that. They go in under cover to do huge drug busts and stuff. He’s basically a giant drug sniffing dog,” I laughed and Marco joined in. “No, but seriously, that actually sounds like a pretty cool job to have.”

“Yeah. Have you ever thought about going into the police force?” Marco asked.

“Well, I mean, sort of. I realize this extreme rock climbing isn’t something I can do for my entire life. I love it, but it’s not really a long-term career. I’d end up like Heichou, being forced to teach kids. Not my forte there. Plus there’s no guarantee I’ll go pro. I mean, I will if I’m lucky enough, but odds are I won’t. I need another plan for if that happens,” I explained.

“That is a really good plan. I mean, don’t give up on your extreme rock climbing. Obviously it makes you happy. You didn’t try to kill anyone this morning despite the fact that it was early, Monday, and the first day of classes,” he smiled innocently, “that’s probably because you were in such a good mood over making the team.” I rolled my eyes at him. “In all honesty though I feel like you would be good at being a cop.”

“Thanks,” I mumbled. Krista walked back to us with our drinks.

“You food is just about finished it will be out soon,” she smiled.

“Thank you,” we said in unison again.

“So what are you planning on doing career wise?” I asked.

“Well I think right now I know I want to go into counseling, but I’m not sure where. I think I want to work with kids, like teens or something. Maybe in schools, maybe in more of a private practice setting. I haven’t figured that part out yet,” Marco said.

“I can totally see you doing that,” I commented.

“Really?”

“Yeah, you’re Freckled Jesus. Like a saint. Are you even capable of being a total asshole? Are you ever mean? No, don’t answer. You’re not,” I told him. He looked kind of embarrassed, eyes downcast. Shit. I said something stupid. “Uhm, that’s not a bad thing you know. I like that about you,” I coughed awkwardly into my hand. “I mean you balance out my exceedingly rude, but still totally attractive, attitude,” I smirked. My comment had the desired effect because Marco let out a laugh. Just then Krista delivered our food. Our first few bites were in companionable silence. “This is really good.”

“Mmm, mine too,” Marco agreed. “So how long have you been friends with Eren, Armin, and Mikasa?”

“Ahh, funny story that one is. Actually we weren’t friends at first. Eren really hated my guts. In high school I had this huge crush on Mikasa. She was like my dream girl. So I hit on her all the time, but never got anywhere. Finally I stopped being so subtle about it and asked her out. She rejected me, and I didn’t understand why at the time. Eren found out and we had it out in the school parking lot that day. Mikasa isn’t really into guys. I learned that a little too late. Mikasa ended up breaking up the fight, but not before Eren broke my nose and I broke his wrist. Armin explained the situation while he took me to the nurse and Mikasa hauled Eren along against his will. As an apology I helped Eren do his homework while his wrist healed. Armin and he were already study buddies, so I just joined in. After some time we just kind of started getting to know each other, hanging out for fun, and bam. That’s our friendship,” I finished.

“Wow, that’s some crazy way to become friends with someone. The way I met Connie and Sasha was not nearly as violent. Some kid had been teasing me about my freckles back in middle school. Sasha and Connie overheard him and it was Mama Sash to the rescue. She told the kid off then gave me some potato chips from a bag she had stashed in the pocket of her hoodie. Of course Connie came with her. It was pretty much an instant friendship there,” he smiled as he remembered.

“Yeah Sasha is still protective of you,” I grumbled as I shoved the last of the delicious food in my mouth. Marco just gave me a puzzled look. “Anyway, you ready to head back?” I asked eyeing his empty plate.

“Yeah, let me just grab our waitress,” he said, signaling her over. “Could I have the check, but also do you mind if I order something to take with us?”

“Sure. What would you like?” she asked pulling out her order pad.

“The zeppoli with chocolate sauce please.”

“No problem. I’ll go grab that for you,” Krista flounced away.

When she returned Marco paid and we left.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

_Marco’s POV_

I was so excited when I saw that they had zeppoli on their menu. It was one of my favorites and I hadn’t had it in years. I set the bag down on my desk while Jean slid into pajamas. Naturally, I had a good giggle at his underwear of choice. It’s the little things in life you have to enjoy, you know? I also deliberately did not look long. Nope. Totally was not staring. Jean stretched out on his bed and began flipping through our limited cable channels. “No way!” I whipped around to stare at the screen. “Go back, go back!” I told him. “Yes! Dirty Dancing is on! We’re watching it,” I insisted. I grabbed the zeppoli, plates, and plopped down by Jean’s feet.

“Aww do we have to?” Jean whined.

“Yes. Now eat your zeppoli and hush, this is the actual first dirty dancing scene where Baby learns how to get all over Johnny,” I whispered.

“Seriously? Anyone can dance like that. They’re just grinding up on each other. I could do that,” he huffed.

“Mhm. Sure you can,” I laughed. Something dangerous flickered in Jean’s eyes. He stood up in front of me and beckoned with one finger.

“Come here,” he murmured. My heart skipped a beat. No, it skipped five. I’m certain I was clinically dead for a bit there. “Even after seeing my dance moves the other night you doubt I could pull off something this simple?” he whispered. “Stay here,” he instructed when I approached him. Jean ran over to his laptop. “Hungry Eyes” started drifting out of the speakers. He tossed me a proud, half-lidded look. The steps he took towards me were slow, deliberate. I swallowed. When he reached me he placed his hands on my hips. I shook my head at him and grabbed his hands. He struck me as more of a Baby than a Johnny. I wrapped his arms around my neck instead. My hands at his lower back pulled him in closer to me. His façade cracked ever so slightly.

“I’ve seen the movie more times so I’ll lead,” I informed him. After sliding my hands to grip his hips I directed them in a circle much like Johnny taught Baby. I twisted my own hips to mirror his. We started off unsure at first, but gained speed and assurance. When I splayed my fingers and tightened my grip on his sides Jean accidentally swayed in the wrong direction causing our hips to graze each other unexpectedly. I couldn’t help the small, quiet groan that rumbled from my throat. Jean’s accompanying gasp did not escape my notice. I also noticed that the music had cut out, leaving us in sterile silence. I coughed into my hand awkwardly as I let Jean slip out of my hold. “I think I’m going to, uhm, go take a shower. Then I’ll have less to do to get ready in the morning,” I mumbled. The only response I got was a grunt of affirmation. Shower supplies in hand I headed for the bathroom.

~~~~~~~~

Logically speaking a cold shower was probably the best way to go. This was usually said by people that had never attempted to take a cold shower. Thus I opted for a hot shower as I waited for my pulse to start throbbing a little further north again. I washed my hair, twice, before I gave up on the notion of my hard-on solving itself. Alright, I’ll just get it out of my system and head to bed. I fisted my shaft roughly, letting out a low grunt. The sensation was too much too fast. I loosened my grasp and switched to running my fingers along the underside. They dipped low to give a brief squeeze to my balls then slowly wandered up to circle around the head and swipe across the slit. I gasped. My fingers repeated their circuit until my breathing switched to heavy pants. I circled my fingers around my length again, slower this time. Using the water to slicken my grip I picked a lazy pace. My mind began to wander. It was no longer my hand, but someone else’s. Someone with a cocky smile and light brown eyes. Piercings adorned his face and ears, but it was the two-toned hair that made him unmistakable. “Jean,” I moaned. I braced my free hand against the tile wall and stroked faster.

 _“That’s Officer Kirschstein to you.”_   Indeed Jean wore a dark blue uniform complete with a gold badge proclaiming his name. I didn’t have much time to appreciate the sight as his hand began dancing along my sensitive skin making my hips stutter in his grasp. His fingers circled the base of my cock as his tongue flicked over the head. Another moan rumbled from my chest. Jean’s tongue traced the pulsing vein on the underside of my erection down to meet his hand, then up again until it flicked across my slit. His lips littered light kisses along the very same path before engulfing the head completely. I saw white when he hollowed out his cheeks to suck me in deeply. My hand attempted to thread my fingers through his hair, but was met with resistance. Jean let my heated erection slip out of his mouth. _“Ah ah ah. You didn’t forget that little detail about being handcuffed already did you? Tonight is all about you remember? Now, allow me.”_ I let out a high keening noise when Jean swallowed me anew. The frustrated feeling from not being able to touch him only heightened every little touch he graced me with. Jean bobbed back and forth slowly taking more with each dip of his head. I could see more and more of my cock disappear through his pinkened lips. His face was flushed and his eyes watered a little. It was as his lips brushed my pubic hair and his throat convulsed around the head of my shaft that I lost myself.

“Jean, ah, Jean, ngh, I’m gonna…”

 _“Cum for me, starlight.”_   I could do nothing but chant Jean’s name as he went back to sucking at me vigorously. I whimpered when I emptied myself down his throat. A dull haze settled over my vision. When it cleared I found myself staring at the shower wall. I shivered as I realized the water had gone cold. My sluggish muscles worked to scrub the rest of my body quickly before I turned into a popsicle. I toweled myself dry and slipped into my pajamas. The shower was a much needed relief, but I couldn’t help feeling a little guilty, thinking about Jean. Luckily when I got back to the room he was snuggled down into his bed with the lights off. Must have fallen asleep already. I yawned and decided to turn in myself. I would just not think about what happened. Obviously my hormones ran away with me. Totally normal. I was not ready to start a relationship. And I couldn’t go there with Jean. He was my roommate. Also, did he even have a thing for guys? No, not important. He was my roommate first and foremost. No more fantasies. No matter how good he looked in that police uniform, on his knees… “Goodnight, starlight,” I heard him whisper from his side of the room. It startled me back into reality.

“Goodnight, sunshine,” I whispered back before I succumbed to the sleep pulling at my eyelids.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo. No beta as usual because sorry. I get so excited though. Concrit always welcome.  
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)  
> I track: fic: sina uni


	7. On Fridays We Do Karaoke

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Totally inspired by XxLevixX. They tempted me. I take no responsibility.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have I mentioned that you shouldn't expect regular updates? Do I even want to look at how long it's been since I updated this? Even I had a hard time remembering what was going on in the story. (^~^;)  
> Initially I planned on writing more during winter break, but then work happened. Also work and school still dominate most of my awake time. Gomen!
> 
> Here, you'll need this song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuN6gs0AJls  
> And this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff0oWESdmH0

**Chapter 7**

_Jean’s POV_

Thank God it’s Friday. I told myself that repeatedly at practice. Levi Heichou didn’t waste any time before starting to train us for our first competition. “Jaeger you idiot! Can you finish a single climb without being a cocky fuck?” I sighed. Coach Levi was being particularly picky today. It was our fourth ever practice and I was already realizing how hard we would be pushed as a team. Heichou told us at our first practice on Tuesday evening that we would practice Monday through Friday every week. Weekends were left free for both competition and “personal improvement” as he put it. I looked around at my teammates. Levi was punishing Eren by forcing him to scale nothing but green climbs until he lost his attitude. Ymir, the hostess from Maria’s Bistro with a stick up her ass, happened to also be on the team. She was guffawing and having a knee slapping good time watching Eren suffer. Mikasa opted to practice on a yellow climb in order to keep an eye on Eren. Reiner and Bert were working some assorted team members up some red climbs, or as we had begun to affectionately call it the “goodness, gracious, great wall of fire”. Annie Leonhardt, a short, blonde girl with dull, blue eyes stuck to a green climb. It was all she ever did. How she made the team I have no clue. “Alright everyone, take five!” We circled up with our snacks and Gatorade.

“Hey, Eren! Come over here!” Reiner beckoned. Eren wandered over and plopped his ass down in between Reiner and I. “You see Annie over there?” Eren nodded. “Have you ever seen her do anything harder than a green climb?”

“No” he responded automatically.

“Well, as captain, I think we need to make sure she can do the harder climbs. What do you say? How about you challenge her to a race up the red? So I can see how she does,” Reiner suggested.

“Sure! Hey, Annie!” Eren exclaimed, standing and pointing at her dramatically. Maybe he should have been a theatre major like Springles. I looked over in time to notice Bert lightly sock Reiner in the shoulder and shoot him a knowing look of disapproval. Well damn, I shoulda brought popcorn for this show. “I challenge you to a race. First to the top of the red wall wins.”

Annie blinked slowly before rolling her eyes, “Fine.” The two wandered over and set themselves up at the base.

“Reiner you call it!” Eren shouted over.

“Alright. On your mark, get set, go!” While Eren began scrambling up the face of the wall Annie hung back for a moment. I could see her eyes flicking from one peg to the next. After Eren had made it about five feet up the wall she side-stepped and cast her first line. Annie slithered upwards, weaving a serpentine path. She was three quarters of the way up the climb before Eren had even made it a quarter of the way up. He’d managed to criss-cross his lines in his haste and was attempting in vain to realign himself. By the time Eren was back to his vertical ascent Annie was swiftly pulling herself up to sit on the ledge of the wall. Reiner let out a hearty cheer. It was seconds later Eren reached the top. Whispered words were shared between the two before Annie grabbed Eren by the hands, pulling him away from the wall, and dropping him. He tumbled head over heels and landed in the foam pit below, his knees grazing his now bright red ears. Reiner’s bellowing laughter echoed throughout the facility. Some of the others let out chuckles.

“You want to test me next, Reiner?” Annie yelled as she glared daggers at him from the top of the wall.

“No thank you!” he called back. Note to self: don’t fuck with Annie. She plunged herself into the pit below as Eren tried to extract himself none too gracefully. It was then that Heichou wandered back from wherever he disappeared to.

“Okay brats, I don’t know what you were just doing, I don’t want to know. Everyone pick one last climb, run your laps on the track upstairs, and then your free to go. Except you, Jaeger,” he said grasping Eren by the back of his shirt before he could escape. “You start your laps now and you run until I don’t feel like kicking you in the face anymore.”

“But Heichou,” Eren whined.

“Don’t you ‘Heichou’ me. Go.” Eren pouted as he slowly walked up to the indoor track muttering something along the lines of quoth the raven. Said raven rolled his eyes and rubbed his temples. Lucky for Eren, Coach Levi was only kidding about the kick in the face. At least I’m pretty sure. “Braun, Fubar, Kirschstein, over here!” Uh oh. I walked cautiously over to Heichou, Reiner and Bert at my heels. “I’m going to make this quick. Kirschstein,” I met his gaze through my eyelashes, “you’re the new team treasurer. Usually we hold elections for this sort of thing, but we have so many new faces on the team that Fubar, Braun, and I just selected you. You think you can manage counting some money on occasion without fucking it up?”

“Yes, sir,” I replied without thinking.

“Good, all of you are dismissed to finish your training.” He stalked off to supervise some of the other team members.

“Alrighty then,” I exhaled, unaware I had been holding my breath.

“Don’t worry about it, your responsibilities are easy. You count any money we earn from fundraising and manage any expenses we have as a team. With Coach Levi’s approval of course. It was my job last year,” Bert reassured me.

“Thanks. I guess we ought to get climbing if we wanna get our asses outta here.”

“Last one up is a rotten egg,” Reiner yelled as he sprinted off toward an orange climb. I caught the slight smile on Bert’s lips before he chased after his boyfriend. Those two are disgustingly cute sometimes.

 

_Marco’s POV_

My phone chimed with a new text message. I peeled my eyes away from my statistics textbook and swiped my thumb across the screen.

_Sasha: Marco you are coming out with Connie and me tonight_

_Me: Uhm, since when?_

_Sasha: Since now. We’re inviting some new friends out too. There’s this super cool looking karaoke bar downtown._

_Me: A bar?_

_Sasha: KARAOKE bar. No alcohol unless you’re old enough. At least that’s what they say. I hear the bartender can’t say no to a pretty girl._

_Sasha: Oh and bring Jean. We’ll pick you up at 8. Love you bye!_

I rolled my eyes, but surrendered. One did not argue with a Sasha on a mission. The door clicked open and Jean entered our tiny room. “Hiya, sunshine, how was practice?”

“Alright. Levi was brutal today. I’m so ready for the weekend,” he groaned as he face-planted into his bed.

“Well lucky for you Sasha and Connie are picking us up at eight to take us to a, uh, bar,” I quickly omitted the karaoke part, figuring it best.

“I’m in. Have you eaten dinner yet?”

“No. We have enough time to run down to the dining hall and stuff our faces before they get here,” I suggested.

“Perfect, let’s go, starlight.”

 

~~~~~~~~

 

It was twenty minutes after eight that Springles finally showed up in Connie’s old beat up truck. “Come on boys, let’s go!” Sasha yelled out the passenger window. Connie honked the horn for emphasis. The drive passed quickly with Sasha, Connie, and I belting out to the radio and Jean griping about it in the back seat next to me. As we approached the front door Jean paused.

“Oh, no. Hell no. A karaoke bar, Marco? Why would you do this to me?” Jean bemoaned.

“It’ll be fun. Come on,” I grinned and pulled him by the arm into the building. A polished bar ran half the length of the wall on our left. Tables sprawled out across the room leading up to a small stage. Plush booths lined the right-hand wall. The place was surprisingly crowded. Sasha waved at a booth in the corner near the stage. She bolted towards it weaving between tables; or more accurately bulldozing them.

“Hey, Jean, I didn’t know you were coming!” said a blonde man built like a brick shithouse.

“Kill me now,” muttered Jean beside me. “What are you two giants doing here?” he said louder.

“Connie and Sasha invited us.”

“Since when do guys know each other?”

“We’re all in the same theatre class,” Sasha responded as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Yeah. ‘Tis best to be a well-rounded man, and my Bertl turtledove here deserves the best,” he cooed at the dark haired man beside him. Said man turned a brilliant red and buried his face in the blonde’s shoulder.

“Well I guess since not all of us know each other some introductions are in order,” Sasha spoke up. “This blonde guy here is Reiner, and the dark haired one is his boyfriend Bertholdt.”

“You can just call me Bert,” he interjected.

Sasha continued, “Obviously you both know Mr. Grumpy Gills over there is Jean, and the bundle of freckled adorableness next to him is Marco.”

“Nice to meet you,” I offered with a smile. Jean and I slid into the booth.

“Sash and I will go get drinks. What does everyone want?” Connie asked.

“Wait one second!” Reiner whipped out his phone, tapped a few times, shook it, and then stared patiently. “Bert and I will have apple daiquiris.” I felt the collective slow blink everyone besides Bert gave him. “What? It’s a mixology app. Shake it and get a random drink. Sometimes it sucks, sometimes it’s great. That’s the beauty of it,” Reiner explained.

“I’m gonna need a Jack and Coke,” Jean supplied.

“What about you Marco, want the virgin?” Sasha asked innocently. Why she always had to phrase it like that… I sighed.

“Yes, Coke please,” I answered. They disappeared into the mass of people.

“If you’ll excuse us, Bert and I are gonna go look at the song list,” Reiner grabbed Bert’s hand and dragged him off. Bert just shot a small smile and wave over his shoulder. I glanced at Jean. He was picking at the exposed edge of the seat, pulling out chunks of foam. I felt kind of bad for lying to him to get him here. But he needed a night out just as much as the rest of us after our first successful week of school. I reached out and pulled his hand away from the cushion.

“You’ll just make it worse if you pick at it,” I teased. Jean jumped and pulled his hand back when Sasha and Connie slammed our drinks down on the table.

“Hey where did Bert and Reiner go?” Sasha asked. Not a second after the words left her mouth a familiar tune began pumping out of the speakers on the stage. We turned to find Reiner and Bert holding microphones and standing center stage. They were both staring at a screen on the front of the stage. Poor Bert looked like he broke a sweat already. They sang in unison.

“Moving forward using all my breath. Making love to you was never second best.” Reiner shot a cheeky wink at Bert which only seemed to make him relax just a little. “I’ll stop the world and melt with you. You’ve seen the difference and it’s getting better all the time.” Despite Reiner’s voice drowning out most of Bert’s their duet received cheers and a large round of applause from the audience.

“Up next I’m told we have a special duet for a pair called sunshine and starlight!” Oh no.

“You didn’t.” I looked from Connie to Sasha. Connie gave me a shark-toothed smile.

“Well I guess Sasha and I could always go on instead. We really should do a reprise of our spectacular Peanut Butter Jelly time performance…”

“Fine, just-“

“No!” I interrupted Jean. “You don’t want that. It’s just better if we go. Come on, sunshine let’s go.” I pulled him along before he could deny me.

“Knock ‘em dead boys! I already picked you a winning song!” Sasha shouted after us. My hands started shaking before we made it to the stage. Jean’s hand was steady when he took the mic from the emcee. He must have noticed my hand trembled.

“Hey, you okay?” he whispered.

“Fine. I still get small bouts of stage fright here and there,” I admitted.

“Here,” he put his hand on my shoulder and spun me around to face the audience. “You see Sasha and Connie out there?” I nodded. “Good now imagine those two in fuzzy monkey suits, now sing to them.” I laughed, the mentally image firmly imprinted in my mind. Monkey suits really suited them. Electric guitar blared from the speaker beside me. Luckily the lyrics for this song came to me automatically.

“You sit there in your heartache. Waiting on some beautiful boy to. To save you from your old ways. You play forgiveness. Watch it now, here he comes,” I sang.

“He doesn’t look a thing like Jesus. But he talks like a gentleman. Like you imagined when you were young,” he sang back.

“Can we climb this mountain? I don’t know. Higher now than ever before. I know we can make it if we take it slow. Let’s take it easy, easy now, watch it go,” we nearly yelled by the end of the lyric. The adrenaline kicked through my system. The buzzing high of excitement took over as we belted out the rest of the song. I felt giddy when I handed my mic back to the emcee and clambered off the stage.

“I’m gonna go get some water, I’ll be back,” I told Jean. I squeezed through the tables to the bar. I caught the bartender’s attention and asked for my water. The piercing chill that felt like and icicle slipping down my throat was worth it.

“Hey, you were pretty good up there,” a voice spoke from just behind me. I spun around to find myself face to face with a young man with slicked back brown hair and dark brown eyes.

“Oh, uhm, thank you,” I replied, rubbing at my cheeks to disperse the blush. “I wasn’t really trying to sound spectacular, just have fun.”

“Well, to tell you the truth, I’m a bit of an addict for places like this. Drunk karaoke is sort of my weakness. And I must say that you definitely blew everyone else away. You have some decent pipes on you.” I laughed.

“Well thanks. Are you planning on getting up there?” I asked him.

“Ahh, no. I have stage fright. I just watch. Maybe one day.” There was a lull in the conversation filled only by someone screeching out the one Journey song. “Hey, uhm, this will probably sound weird, but don’t I know you from somewhere?” he asked. I tried to jog my memory of where I could have potentially saw him. “Do you go to Sina University?”

“Yeah, you too?”

“Yeah. Oh! I know. Psychology class with Nanaba at eleven on Mondays and Wednesdays,” he exclaimed.

“Oh yeah! I’m sorry I’m usually better with remembering faces.”

“No worries. I’m Nac Tius by the way,” he said, holding out his hand. I shook it.

“Marco Bodt. Nice to actually meet you.” I responded.

“Well Marco Bodt I will see you in class on Monday then,” Nac said before vanishing in the crowd.

 

_Jean’s POV_

How dare he. How dare he look at Marco like that. How dare he make Marco blush like that. Who does he think he is? I slumped lower in the booth, making the leather squeak. I crossed my arms over my chest, uncaring if I looked like I was pouting. Mostly because I was pouting. As if being dragged to this damn karaoke bar wasn't bad enough in the first place.

“Who was that hot potato you were talking to over there?” Sasha teased Marco when he approached the booth.

“O-oh, just some guy from my psych class,” he shrugged. I however, noticed the pink tint that still dusted his cheeks. That’s it. I don’t like that guy. I tipped my glass up to my lips, but no liquid was to be found. Somehow I managed to down my entire drink while watching Marco talk to what’s his face. I drank my way through two more Jack and Cokes before we left. I don’t remember much. Music, chatter, more drinks. I didn't pay attention. Marco drove back because Connie couldn't even walk the short distance to the bathroom by himself.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Never had I been so happy to see my bed. The universe swirled when I dropped face first into my mattress. I groaned my appreciation. I toed off my shoes and yanked my sheet up to my ears. Marco shuffled around in the dark and changed into his pajamas. I could hear the rustling sheets that he untucked and slid under. He rolled around until he found a comfortable position. “Goodnight, sunshine.” I didn't respond, just pretended to be sleeping.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who the heck is Nac Tius?: http://shingekinokyojin.wikia.com/wiki/Nac_Tius  
> Pouty, jealous Jean is such a baby.
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)


	8. On Saturdays We Do Laundry and Pour Our Souls Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Trigger Warnings](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3477761)  
>  Important note: I've now added a link to another work. This companion work lists any and all trigger warnings for this work. I chose not to put them in the tags simply because I feel that would spoil the surprises of the story. However, I understand that there are people who need to know these. This list will be updated with every chapter that requires any list for trigger warnings. I will add this link in the notes for every chapter that has any trigger warnings. Always check there before reading new chapters (like this one). And any recommendations for additional trigger warnings to list are always welcome.

**Chapter 8**

_Jean's POV_

 

Sunshine was ordinarily my mortal enemy. The morning after a night out with drinks? Hell no. I felt clammy and disjointed. Why? Oh right, slept in my clothes. Jeans were not made for sleeping in. “Marco, what time is it?” No response. I slid one eye open and glanced at his bed. Empty. I sat up and stretched my arms up, cracking joints from my shoulders to my wrists. Then I twisted at my waist to crack my spine. Finally, I wiggled my toes and cracked my fingers. At least that made me feel more relaxed. The window was open and a light breeze rolled in. Marco must have opened it up to let the fresh air in. I glanced at the clock on my desk, it read eleven am. Basically lunch time already. A fluttering motion caught my attention. I grabbed the small post-it note.

_Jean, I didn’t want to wake you. I figured you needed the sleep after last night. Springles and I went out for “hangover-curing” breakfast. I’ll be back later. –Marco_

Well that explained the empty other half of the room. Though I would have thought he would have been back by now even if they went for late breakfast. Oh well. My stomach lodged its own formal complaint by way of a loud growl. “Shower first then I will feed you, deal?” Standing like a proper biped was too much effort. I rolled onto the floor and crawled my way to my closet. First, I plucked out my shower supplies. Next, I had to decide what clothes to wear. Real pants were also too much effort for today. “Basketball shorts and a t-shirt it is. And the underwear of the day is…” I dug around my drawer blindly, “Chibi Iron Man!” Hoisting myself up was unavoidable. “Herk! Ah, so much effort,” I wheezed in an old man voice. I gathered my shit in my arms and shuffled down the hall to the bathroom.

The showers were empty, no surprise there. I tossed my towel and clean clothes on a shelf next to the shower stall, then stripped out of my disgusting ones. Showers were made for thinking. What else did a person have to do in relative privacy while dripping wet? Well there was that one other thing… But this was not a morning for that. As I lathered my hair I ran through what I could remember of last night. Which was close to nothing. Reiner and Bertholdt sang, Marco and I got forced into singing. That wasn’t all that bad, but I was never going to willingly admit that out loud. Things were pretty damn fuzzy from there on out. I couldn’t help but feel like something left a sour taste in my mouth, and it wasn’t morning-after-alcohol breath. I shrugged it off and hurried my ass out of the shower. There was only so much hot water the building could supply at one time and I hit the limit. Once toweled and dressed I hauled my junk back to my room and threw it somewhere in the closet. My stomach was indulging itself by consuming the surrounding internal organs. At least that’s what it felt like. Wallet and keys in hand I headed down to the dining hall for something to pacify my now cannibalistic food sack.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

As mouth-watering as the pizza looked, I was not letting myself gain the freshman fifteen. Or fifty if all I ate was pizza. Ooo a wrap station. Say what you want, wraps are fucking good. I slid a tortilla out on my plate and glanced over my filling options. Lettuce down first, then definitely the grilled chicken, a little sprinkle (okay a lot) of bacon bits never hurt anybody, some chopped tomato, cucumbers, and honey mustard to finish it off. That old saying about escaping from the backseat of a moving car: tuck and roll, totally how making a wrap works. Never falls apart. I grabbed myself some pretzels and a Gatorade, paid the cashier, and turned to find a place to plant my ass.

As my gaze wandered over the assortment of tables I spotted something I hadn’t expected.  Marco was sitting at a table off to one side, but not alone. The dark haired guy next to him pointed to Marco’s chin and said something I couldn’t make out. Marco turned a little pink and reached for a napkin, but before he could use it Mr. Helpful used his thumb to wipe whatever it was off of Marco’s face. Which caused Marco to go from Patrick the starfish pink to Larry the lobster red. My feet started carrying me towards their table before my brain registered the action. When I arrived I most certainly did not glare at Mr. Fuckface. I also definitely did not slam my tray down on the table with unnecessary force. Or sit in Marco’s personal bubble. Irrationally territorial? Me? Nope. Marco looked at me wide-eyed. “Jean? What are you doing here?” Marco asked.

“Eating?” I said plastering an innocent smile on my face while I pointed at my food. Marco rolled his eyes.

“Sorry, Nac, this special snowflake child over here is my roommate Jean Kirschstein. Jean this is Nac Tius, he’s in my psychology class,” Marco announced with a mocking smile shot in my direction.

“Nice to meet you, Jean,” Nac said, extending his hand out towards me. I debated ignoring it for a fraction of a second, but I needed to behave like a polite human being with some semblance of common manners. That didn’t stop me from tightening my grip to just this side of painful after I clasped his hand. I didn’t fail to notice the slight tightening of his stare, or his grip, in response.

“Likewise,” I replied. I slipped back down into my seat and started on my wrap. That was when it hit me. Last night, the guy at the karaoke bar. He was the one I saw talking to Marco. _Flirting_ with Marco, I amended. I knew I didn’t like this guy.

“Well, I have homework to do, so I’ll be leaving now. See you tomorrow, Marco,” Nac smiled at him and left. Marco turned to look at me.

“How did you sleep?” he asked.

“Mmmnh,” I grunted with a pointed look. Marco laughed.

“I’ll take that as not well. Though I assume you probably fared better than Connie and Sasha. Apparently they both slept on the floor of the bathroom after they took turns throwing up.” I shuddered at the thought. Despite Connie and his roomies getting one of those dorms with a living area, kitchenette, bathroom, and separate bedrooms, it still had to be nasty in there.

“Where did you all go for breakfast?”

“Oh, IHOP. Naturally,” he answered.

“Ooo, yeah. You’re right. That’s the best post-drunk breakfast choice.” Marco just nodded. “I assume you slept well. You didn’t have any alcohol did you?”

“Ah, no. I, uhm, don’t drink at all. I mean I know were underage anyway, but I choose not to. Don’t ever plan to.” Marco fidgeted with his empty water bottle.

“Oh? Why not?” I was curious.

“Long story,” Marco replied. He turned away from me and stared out the large glass windows. Something about the empty, far-off look in his eyes told me not to ask. We sat in silence for a bit longer as I finished eating my food.

“So what are your plans for today?” I tried.

“Oh, I guess today is laundry day for me. I’m going to camp out in the laundry room for a few hours and get it all done. What about you? Do you have any homework?” Marco countered.

“No, no homework. No official plans actually.”

“How about you keep me company while I do my laundry. Heck shouldn’t you do your laundry too?”

“What, you mean I can’t just turn things inside out and wear them repeatedly?” I mocked. Marco shoved at me. I couldn’t hold the serious face and burst out laughing.

“You are washing your clothes today whether you like it or not. As good as you smell, I don’t think it would take long to stink up our room that way,” he said. Wait, did he just say what I think he said?

 

_Marco’s POV_

Oh my god. Did I just seriously say what I think I said? I took a peek at Jean. He looked a little pink around the ears so I guess it was safe to assume that answer was yes. “Anyway we should get going. We have to beat the slacker, night crowd. Come on, sunshine!” I called over my shoulder as I escaped that awkward situation.

“Right behind ya, starlight!” Jean puffed as he ran up behind me, having discarded his trash.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

“Did your mother not teach you how to do your own laundry before you went off to college?” I asked incredulously. Jean was attempting to cram all of the dirty clothes we had found buried in his closet into one washer.

“No? How hard can it be? It’s laundry. Washer, dryer, done,” he said, blinking like I was stupid.

“No. You have to sort your laundry. Like this,” I opened up three washers, “light colors together in one, dark clothes in another, and I personally sort out my heaviest darks like jeans, sweats, etc. into their own load,” I demonstrated. “This way the dark colors don’t bleed into the light ones. Have you ever had a shirt that went in the wash white and came out pink?”

“Yeah, how’d you know?” he asked, surprised.

“Gut feeling,” I rolled my eyes. Together we managed to wade through his tangled ball of dirty clothing and smush it into three of his own washers. Luckily we were the only ones doing laundry. I swung my leg over the bench cemented in the center of the room to straddle it. Jean mirrored my movements and sat facing me. I started picking at a loose thread on the hem of my shirt. My thoughts sloshed around in my brain. I felt like I owed Jean an explanation for earlier. The whole alcohol thing. I kind of shut down on him. It was a sore topic. Okay so I didn’t owe him anything. But I wanted him to understand where I was coming from. At least a little bit. We got put together as roommates for the rest of the year. We might as well try to establish some level of comfortable communication, no? I took in a long breath and blew it out through my mouth. “H-hey, Jean,” my voice cracked, “I kinda wanted to talk to you about earlier.” He cocked his head to the side in question. “About the whole me not drinking thing. I feel like I should explain myself.”

“Marco, you don’t have to explain anything to me. You don’t have to say anything at all. That’s your business if you don’t want to share.”

“Well I-I want to share. I want you to know, to understand where I’m coming from.” Jean just settled into a comfortable position and looked at me silently, the green light to say what I wanted. “Uh-uhm, where to start. I-ah, I knew I liked boys from a pretty young age.” I snuck a peek up at Jean to gauge his reaction to that. Aside from a few passive blinks he showed no concern. Well that was a relief. There was always a little demon on my shoulder that gave me anxiety about telling people that I was gay. You just never knew how people would react to that. Even with Connie and Sasha alluding to it. “So yeah. So I had my first boyfriend when I was like sixteen. He was older though. Almost nineteen. He was my close friend’s coworker. So I didn’t think too much of it. She said he seemed like a nice enough guy. He had dated her other friend for several months, but they broke up on amicable terms. We had had one date already. He was my first kiss.” I huff out a hollow laugh at that. Movies always made first kisses magical. Mine was more like drowning in a disgusting saliva waterfall. “A couple of days later he invited me to watch movies at his house.” I could feel my throat start to close up and a weight settle on my chest. My heart became a battering ram against my ribcage as the day came back to me through the fog my mind had created around it. “My mom dropped me off since she needed the car to go shopping. Apparently we were alone because both of his parents were at work. We took a walk to get some food and then wandered back to his house on full stomachs. It was the dead of summer, very hot out that day.” I could feel the tremors start up in my hands. I tucked them into my stomach in hopes of hiding their shaking. “He offered to get me a drink since we had just walked out in the heat. ‘Don’t want you getting dehydrated,’ he said. It was a little bit after I had downed a good portion of my drink that I felt…hot.” A fever began to creep up my spine. Everything felt hot. The shaking in my hands had taken over both of my arms and a lump lodged itself in my throat. “I-I just thought it was hot in there. I mean it was. But I kept getting hotter and hotter. It was so hot. Like when you have a fever when you’re sick, but it didn’t stop. My brain felt like it was in an oven. I couldn’t even think straight I was just so hot. He- he stood up and pulled me into another room. The room started spinning. I couldn’t even tell you which way was up anymore. I dropped down to my knees because I lost my balance. My vision went black. I couldn’t see anything. My eyes were open, but there was just a void. I blacked out after that. When I regained consciousness it was slow. I felt like I had been hit by a freight train. Every muscle in my body ached. I was clammy. Clearly my fever had finally broken. I was finally able to open my eyes, but my vision came and went. I don’t know how long I was out for. I couldn’t move my body. Couldn’t even raise my head. I was tired, just so tired. I just wanted to sleep. He mostly carried my weight to bring me into the kitchen. When he dumped me in a chair I immediately slumped over on the table because I couldn’t support my own weight. He gave me water and helped me drink slowly. I was embarrassed. I thought I had just managed to dehydrate myself. I had no idea. No idea what he had done. After I drank some more I was even more tired. He carried me back into the other room and he-he dumped me on the floor. I was like a rag doll, limp.” The tears I hadn’t noticed welling up in my eyes spilled over then. I watched them pour into my lap as I curled further in on myself. “My brain was scattering. Going eight hundred miles an hour, but I could only catch random fragments of thought. Nothing registered. I felt like I was falling further and further into darkness. Like I was buried inside my own body. He pulled some of my clothes off before I even noticed. But I couldn’t stop him. I couldn’t move. I felt like I had weights that were tethering my entire body. I couldn’t even move a fraction of an inch. I couldn’t form words, sentences, thoughts. To say no. To say stop. I couldn’t.” I choked and coughed. “He didn’t stop. He didn’t- I couldn’t-“ I was going to throw up. My eyes darted around for a garbage can. Somewhere, there had to be one somewhere. Not there. Not there. There was so much pressure on my chest. I felt like I was in a vice. I was drowning. There was no water, but there was no air. Deep breaths. Slow deep breaths. That was what I needed. Slow inhale. Slow exhale. Come on lungs work! No. No that wasn’t working. Why wasn’t it working? Why couldn’t I get any oxygen? I could feel the air moving in and out of my lungs, but everything was getting fuzzy. I was hot, sweating. Black crept into the edges of my vision. I needed air. Why wasn’t there any air?

“Marco!” My eyes jumped to Jean. I forgot he was there. “Marco look at me!” He grabbed my shoulders and locked his eyes with mine. “Marco I want you to listen to me and do as I say, okay? Can you do that for me?” I nodded numbly. “Here let’s sit you on the floor.” He sat down first then grabbed my hands and tugged me down to sit facing him. “Breath with me. In through your nose for four. Out through your mouth for seven. Ready? In through your nose, two, three, four. Out through your mouth, two, three, four, five, six, seven. In, two, three, four. Out, two, three, four, five, six, seven.” We kept this up for some time. I lowered my eyes and locked my gaze on his chest. Mine lungs expanded and collapsed in time with his. I listened to his counts. “Now I want you to put your head between your knees and just keep on breathing.” I complied. His counting never ceased. I don’t know how long we stayed like that. Eventually I no longer felt like I was going to be sick. The pressure in my chest and the shaking went away. The panic eased. I lifted my head and wiped at the already dry tear tracks on my face. One last deep breath in and out. “So long story short. He drugged me. To this day I have no idea with what. I overdosed obviously. Had a stroke. You can’t really see the weakness in my right side unless you look for it. My smile isn’t even anymore.” I demonstrated by showing my pearly whites and placing my pointer finger dead center. The slack in the right side was more obvious that way. “So yeah I like being in control of my body at all times. So, uh, no alcohol.” The laugh that escaped sounded a tad more crazed than I wanted. I took a few more deep breaths while Jean remained silent.

“Better?” Jean asked me, searching my face for any traces of lingering anxiety.

“Better. Thank you.”

 

_Jean’s POV_

“Good.” He gave me a watery smile. Thank you anger management therapy for teaching me calming breathing techniques. “Uhm, do you- do you wanna go lay down?”

“No I- it’s best if I just keep-“ he flitted his empty hands around the space between us. Busy. Keep busy. That’s what he needed. I took a quick glance around the room.

“Well I’m no laundry expert, but I think it’s time to put our stuff in dryers.” I flicked my eyes at at the washers that displayed zeroed timers for emphasis.

“Oh, yeah. We shouldn’t let them sit in there.” Marco got up and wandered over to open his first washer and transfer the clothes to a dryer on the other side of the small room. I copied his motions. Apparently there was a thing called a dryer sheet. You shoved those in with your drying clothes so they didn’t shock you or stick together or something. Marco donated a few of his to my clearly lost cause without him. “Choose your challenge,” Marco said, waving his 3DS at me from his spot on the bench once his dryers were started. I started my last dryer then sat down next to him and flipped through my library of games. I still wasn’t convinced that Marco was entirely back to his normal smiley self. He still looked a little… shell shocked. I knew just the game to brighten his mood.

“Hmm,” I mimed actually flipping through my games as if making a difficult decision. “Mario Kart.”

“Oh, you looking for a butt kicking today then?” he smiled. Lopsided or not I liked seeing him happy and having fun. I promised myself then, I would do anything and everything in my power to keep him happy. And to never let him be hurt like that ever again. I would protect him. He would do the same if he were in my shoes. How I knew that, I have no clue. Something in my gut said that he would do anything to protect me. I can honestly say I’d never been happier while getting my ass handed to me in Mario Kart than when he punched his fist in the air at his solidifying victory and doubled over in laughter at my exaggerated pouting.

“Good game, starlight.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the award for THE WORST half Marco reference ever goes to... me.  
> *throws myself out*  
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)


	9. Love Notes, Temper Tantrums, and an Indirect Kiss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Background-chan! Welcome to the story.  
> I want to reiterate that this really is a jeanmarco story.
> 
> Also thank you everyone! This fic is officially just over a year old now (how did that even happen?) and has over a thousand hits which blows my mind. Seriously. You guys are amazing for sticking out my horribly slow updates.

**Chapter 9**

_Marco’s POV_

 

The tiny bell above the door jingled lightly at my arrival. “Good morning Han-“ I stopped short. The young man behind the counter was definitely not Hanji. He had ashy blonde hair and light grey eyes. “Uhm, I’m sorry. Usually Hanji is here in the mornings.” He laughed.

“No worries. Hanji just hired me. I’ll be picking up some shifts here and there. I’m Millius by the way. Millius Zermusky.”

“Marco Bodt.” We shook hands.

“What can I get for you, Marco?”

“Uhm, can I have a large chai tea latte and a large black coffee?”

“Coming right up,” he said before he turned to start up the machines. He froze for a moment, turned, and squinted at my face. “Do you come in here every morning pretty much?”

“Mmm, yeah…why?”

“Here,” he placed two muffins on the counter. “Hanji told me she’s trying a new recipe for these pumpkin, cranberry muffins. Asked me to give them to her boys. As she put it, I’d know who you were when ‘tall, dark, and freckled walked in first thing in the morning’.” I laughed. That sounded like Hanji. “She wants you to let her know how it tastes when you see her later.”

“That I think I can manage,” I smiled. I fished my debit card out of my wallet and paid for the drinks. “Here’s the coffee,” he handed me one cup, “and the chai,” he handed me the other.

“Thanks, Millius,” I smiled.

“You’re welcome, Marco. See ya around,” he waved as I shuffled out the door. The campus was eerily silent this morning. It was ordinarily fairly quiet at such an early hour, but today a thick fog hung in the air. October was in full swing and the weather reflected that. I trudged my way up the three flights of stairs to room 104. Why a successful college didn’t have the funds to fix an elevator I had no idea.

“Morning, sunshine. I brought your daily fix,” I called quietly as I walked in the door. A muffled grunt was all I received in response, but at least I knew he was awake. I slid his coffee onto his desk along with his muffin. “Hanji is trying a new muffin recipe. We’re supposed to try it and let her know how it tastes when we see her.” Another grunt from under the covers. I sat down on my bed and looked over the muffin. This one didn’t look quite as… unique as the last new recipe. I did not feel like spending another twenty-four hours huddled over the rim of a toilet. Wasabi and shrimp muffins were not the next big thing. I took a small bite just to be safe. It actually wasn’t bad. I took a much larger bite. Scratch that, it was _really good_. “Mmm, Jean, you have to get up. You need to try this muffin.” This time there was no response at all. “Jean, you better not have fallen back asleep. Jean?” Nothing. I got up and wandered over to his bed. Not one bit of him was visible as he had sufficiently buried himself under his blanket in an effort to block out the real world while he slept. I slowly reached for the blanket near where I thought his head was located, but as I tugged on it the blanket was forcefully yanked down and pinned underneath him. “Jean, come on,” I said mildly exasperated. I noticed that Jean pulling the blankets up more over his head had inadvertently exposed his back to me. Big mistake. “Oh, what do we have here? Is that Jean’s incredibly sensitive back I see? I wonder what would happen if I were to run my still freezing hands over this bare skin…” Just as my fingertips brushed at his spine Jean jumped into action. He sat up and whirled around to level a glare at me.

“I take back everything I ever said about you being freckled Jesus. You are freckled Satan. Pure evil in an adorable shell,” he said without any real heat behind his words.

“Oh good you’re up. Drink your coffee, eat your muffin, and get ready because class starts in-“ I checked the clock on my desk, “twenty minutes.”

“Fuck.” Jean flipped his covers off and stumbled over to his closet. I turned my back to let him change in semi-privacy while I made sure my backpack had everything I needed for the day. Binders, check. Textbooks, check. Pencil case, check. “Marco, Loki or Thor?” Loki or Thor? What kind of question was that? He was supposed to be getting dressed.

“Oh my god. Are you seriously asking me to choose your underwear for you?”

“Come on, Marco. Friends help friends choose what underwear to wear.”

“Connie, Sasha, and I do not pick out each other’s underwear.”

“You know Sasha would dress you from head to toe like her own personal Barbie every day if you let her,” he countered. I paused.

“Fair point. Go with Loki.”

 

~~~~~~~~

 

We made it to class with two minutes to spare. Not that Hanji would have known. She barely made it on time herself most mornings. Jean had brought his muffin and devoured it while we waited. “This one was actually pretty good,” he mused.

“Told you Hanji wasn’t deliberately trying to kill us,” I laughed. Jean frowned at me. Hanji bounded in precisely on time. After she set her materials down on her desk she turned to us expectantly.

“So, what did you think?”

“Amazing,” I said.

“Can I have another one?” Jean asked. Hanji laughed and clasped her hands together.

“Only if you pay for it when I put them out in the shop.”

“Damn. I’m still hungry.” I sighed and tugged a package of pop tarts and a cereal bar out of my backpack and slid them over to him. Despite never being a boy scout I was always well prepared. “Thank you,” he whispered as Hanji addressed the class to start the lecture.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Class ended and I packed away my notes. “See ya later, Marco,” Jean said as he threw his binder in his backpack and rushed off. His next class was across campus and being late on Mike Zacharius’ watch was not tolerated. Tardy persons were frequently subjected to his descriptive and personal interrogations. For demonstration purposes for the class of course. If Jean didn’t dawdle he had plenty of time. Lucky me, my Psych class was just in the building next door. I wandered over to my usual seat. Another note was there. Last week when I came into class there was one left on my chair. It had read: _Roses are red, violets are blue. I think you’re cute, maybe you think I am too._ There was no signature, just a small picture of a mechanical troll-looking thing. I had laughed it off then, figured it was just left by mistake, but now… I unfolded the new note: _Your freckles are like spots on your face. You’re pretty tall. I’m hoping that for me, you’d be willing to fall._ Again no signature just the little mechanical troll. Okay so pretty much no doubt this was meant for me. But who could have left it? Jean’s name briefly flashed through my mind. He had the opportunity. Slim as that opportunity was. The little troll wasn’t something I was familiar with though if that was meant to give any indication of the writer. Maybe that was it. Maybe it was just a troll, someone messing around.

“Whatcha got there, Marco?” Nac broke me out of my reverie as he took his regular spot in the chair next to mine.

“Oh, uhm, it’s probably nothing.” I stuffed it in my backpack with the other note and pulled out my binder. Nac quirked an eyebrow at me, but didn’t question any further.

“So anyway, how was your weekend?” he continued.

“Pretty good. I got all of my homework done. My rough draft for my English essay is set. Jean and I marathoned all of the Paranormal Activity movies so I’m pretty sure I’m going to be sleeping with the lights on for the next three weeks at least.” Nac laughed.

“Why do you let him talk you into watching scary movies?”

“Because he likes them,” I responded automatically.

“So why can’t you watch movies you like too?” He had a valid point.

“We do. Like, uhm…” Nac propped his head up on one fist as he waited for my answer. “Dirty Dancing. We watched Dirty Dancing.”

“Uh huh. And how long ago was that?” he countered, guessing accurately that it wasn’t recently.

“Not that long ago,” he squinted, “maybe like a few weeks.” He opened his mouth to make a comment when he was interrupted by Professor Nanaba.

“Okay class. Time to start. So as some of you who actually look at the syllabus I provided may know we are starting group projects. I know that most people hate group projects, but being able to work with other people as a team is an important skill. So I want you to partner yourselves up in groups of two or three, no more than that.” I turned to see Nac already looking at me. _Partners?_ he mouthed. I nodded back at him yes. We turned our attention back to the front as Nanaba passed out a packet of instructions for the project as well as a rubric for how she would be grading it. The rest of class was spent going over instructions, appropriate topics, and any questions. I sighed and stretched as everyone around me clattered their belongings as they packed up.

“So partner, when did you wanna get together to work on some of this project?” Nac asked me.

“Well, I’m free today. Now, actually. If you are?” I added a questioning inflection to the end of my sentence.

“I’m not. Not yet anyway. I still have class until later. How about this. I’ll pick up a pizza after I’m done and stop by your dorm so we can eat dinner and brainstorm. Here, give me your phone.” I handed it over into his outstretched hand. He punched in his number. “Just text me your dorm number and what you like on your pizza. See ya later, Marco.” He waved as he disappeared out of class. I stood up and wandered away myself. My stomach informed me that it wanted food, so I decided to see what was available in the dining hall.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

I lounged in my bed and reread my English essay. Okay so maybe I had my English essay open while I watched videos on YouTube, but I was ahead in my work so I was allowed. Jean wandered in, hair still dripping a bit from his post-practice shower. He dropped his bags on the floor and face planted into his bed; a habit I was becoming familiar with. “How was practice?”

“Ugh.” That was all I got from him.

“That bad?”

“Heichou is getting so hardcore. Our first meet is slowly coming up and he is demanding more, faster, better, impossibly perfect climbs from us. My everything hurts. Even my eyebrows hurt, Marco!” I laughed, I couldn’t help it.

“I highly doubt your eyebrows hurt. Don’t tell me Reiner and Bert talked you into taking drama classes too,” I teased him.

“Hell no.” He was silent for a moment before speaking again. “I just want to stuff my face and sleep. What are we doing for dinner tonight?”

“Oh. I’m sorry. I should have texted you earlier. Nac is coming over so we can work on our Psych project some. He’s bringing over dinner. You can probably join us, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. There should be enough pizza to go around.” I was interrupted then by a knock on the door. I opened it up to Nac and delicious smelling pizza.

“Pizza delivery,” Nac announced as he walked in. “Oh. I didn’t know you were going to be here, Jean. I hope that I’m not going to be in your way being here.”

“I’m not going to be here. I’m going to Armin and Eren’s.” He threw a handful of clothes into a duffel bag, grabbed his things, and headed for the door. The last thing I heard before it slammed behind him was, “Don’t wait up.” I stood in awkward silence with Nac for a moment.

“I’m sorry. Did I upset him?” he asked me.

“No, no. I think he just, is tired, from practice, or something. I’m sure he’ll be fine. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Not your fault. Here let’s open up this pizza. I’m starving.” He set his things down on my desk while I fished out some plates. He handed me a soda and we sat down next to each other on my bed. “You know what? You have good taste in pizza toppings. I almost doubted you for a bit there when you told me all veggie with onions and…mushrooms,” he finished ominously before nudging me with his elbow. I broke into a smile, the tension left the room.

“I told you. It tastes way better than it sounds at first. It’s still not as good as this place back home though. They have pretzel dough for the crust. It’s so heavenly.”

“Okay now I’m back to being skeptical about your taste buds.”

“Okay then I guess you won’t be needing this,” I picked the slice of pizza up off of his plate and took an unnecessarily large bite out of it.

“Wait, no, I take it back! Just don’t deprive me of the pizza!” he pleaded.

“Well I suppose if you are truly sorry…” Just then he leaned over and took his own large bite out of the slice that I had stolen from him. I exaggerated a gasp and pulled the slice in towards my mouth. “You know this means war.”

“I would be careful if I were you. I have a hostage.” He pulled the pizza box out from behind him. “Please, Marco, help me. Do what he says,” Nac said in a squeaky voice as he maneuvered the pizza box lid as if it were the pizza talking.

“Anything. I’ll do anything you want. Just don’t hurt him.”

“Hmm,” Nac scratched his chin as he seemed to contemplate his demands. “In return for his release, you agree to skip working on our project for tonight and we watch a movie of your choosing. Because I don’t know about you, but I have zero ideas for this project and could use some more time to think on it.” I had to agree. Nothing good came to my mind this afternoon. Not that I put much effort into trying to come up with a good topic idea.

“Deal.”

“Good,” he tossed the pizza box back on my desk after pulling out another slice, “now go pick a movie." I set down my plate and rifled through the handful of films I had brought with me. I plucked one and popped it straight into the DVD player. “You’re not going to tell me what we’re watching?” I simply held up one finger in a silent instruction for him to wait. The menu introduced the movie for me.

“You have entered the Rocky Horror Picture Show DVD. Guaranteed to thrill you, chill you, and fulfill you. So come up to the lab, and see what’s on the slab.”

“Okay I may question you pizza choices, but I do not question your taste in good movies,” Nac said.

“You should never question my taste in anything.” I turned off the lights and sat back down on the bed to hunker in for the movie.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

_Jean’s POV_

“Oh Jean. I didn’t know you were going to be here, Jean. Gee Jean, I hope I’m not going to be in your way. Oh wait, yes I do,” I mocked out loud in a clearly inaccurate, high-pitched voice. “What are you staring at?” I snapped at the couple giving me identical funny looks as I stomped onward. I hate that guy. He’s so obnoxious. And the way he tried to stake his claim on Marco. Like I was the one who was in his way. The nerve. Not that I cared if he wanted Marco. Marco wasn’t mine. Ugh. I rubbed my hands over my face. This really wasn’t going the way I wanted it to. I knocked on the door to Eren and Armin’s dorm. I should have called or at least texted. I didn’t even know if they were there. I was just about to turn around and leave when the door opened.

“What do you want?” Just my luck it was Eren.

“Eren, who is it?” Armin pulled the door further open so he could see for himself. “Oh, Jean, what are you doing here?”

“I’m, uhm, I couldn’t stay, I didn’t call, sorry.” Armin blinked at my non-explanation.

“How about you come inside?” he offered. I shuffled through the doorway. He guided me over to his bed and sat me down gently. “Eren could you make Jean a hot beverage?”

“Why?”

“Eren, social convention dictates that when someone is sad you make them a hot beverage,” Armin scolded playfully. Eren threw his arms up in the air, but turned to pull a tin out of Armin’s desk drawer along with three mugs.

“You are not allowed to watch that ever again,” Eren declared. Armin said nothing, but smiled triumphantly. “I’ll be right back,” he said before swinging the door shut with his foot behind him.

“Alright. What’s up with you? You look… worn out. I know Coach Levi has been working you guys hard, but… you look like a kicked puppy.”

“I dunno, Ar,” I sighed.

“Okay that is somehow a step down in clarity from what you said earlier. How about we start with why you came over here?” he suggested.

“Marco invited Nac over to work on a project.” I tried not to make a disgusted face while I said his name. Really I did.

“Something tells me you didn’t come here just to make sure you didn’t interrupt their work,” Armin guessed. I slumped over on the bed.

“Maybe. I just- that guy pisses me off. I can’t explain it.”

“I think I can explain it. You’re being a jealous Jean,” he poked at my arm and I rolled my eyes at him.

“I am not jealous.” Armin turned his next poke into a particularly forceful jab. “Oww, hey-“

“Bzzz, sorry. Wrong answer. Would you care to try again?”

“I can’t be jealous. Okay? What right do I have? Marco, were friends. I don’t want to ruin that trust that we’re building in our friendship by being all ‘Hey, I have feelings for you.’ Not to mention he is so not feeling a relationship with anyone right now. What kind of friend would I be if I put that kind of pressure on him?” I shouted. I felt guilty about it, but I was just frustrated.

“Oh…kay then. Well, firstly, I think you’re wrong,” I tried to interrupt, but Armin covered my mouth with his hand. “Let me say my piece then you can argue when I’m done if you want.” I nodded my understanding. “So like I said, I think you’re wrong. I obviously don’t know Marco as well as you do. But what I do know is that despite the fact that you two only met at the beginning of the school year you seem freakishly… in tune with each other. A good part of that is probably learning to function with each other and room together, but clearly there is more. A certain level of understanding if you will. Have you even looked at the two of you when you eat together? If your fruit cup has blueberries he takes them because you hate them. If his sandwich has pickles you take them and eat them because he’s not a fan. When you two go halvsies on a bagel you always make sure he gets the bottom part because, I assume, he likes the crunchy half better. And whenever he magically finds that last hidden chocolate milk for you? He doesn’t, he bribes the kitchen to get one for you because they have a secret stash in the back and he knows how much you love it.” My mouth bobs open and closed like a dumbstruck fish. “If that isn’t enough I doubt Marco could ever hate you for having feelings for him. He doesn’t appear to me to be the kind of person to turn his back on your for that. And if he would then he’s a sucky friend and screw him. As for that last part…” Armin cracked the knuckles of his fingers. “How do you know he doesn’t want to be in a relationship? Did he tell you that?”

“Well, no. I mean, Sasha told me he has had a shit track record with relationships. I heard as much from him first hand,” I explained.

“Okay so his relationships haven’t been good. That means nothing. Maybe he does want a relationship, but just needs someone with more stability. Maybe he doesn’t because of all that. As his friend first, your job is to help him through that past junk any way you can, any way that he is comfortable with. I agree you should not put pressure on him if he declines, but that doesn’t mean you get to abandon him. You have to put his needs before your selfish wants.”

“Having feelings for one of your closest friends sucks,” I groaned.

“Tell me about it,” he mumbled almost inaudibly. I raised an eyebrow at him, but Eren chose that moment to barrel through the door.

“Here, hot chocolate. If you don’t like it drink it anyway.” He handed me a mug nearly sloshing it over the rim and into my lap. I gave him a dirty look that he missed as he carefully handed Armin his cup with a, “Be careful. It’s still really hot, don’t burn your tongue.” Armin accepted it and thanked him. “So. Are you feeling better?” he directed at me after he sat on his bed and set his mug down to cool.

“Yes and no.”

“Armin he’s still speaking nonsense. I think he needs more work.” I launched a pillow that smacked him squarely in the face. I ducked behind Armin, using him as a shield. “Coward. Come out and face me.”

“I don’t remember anyone hiring me as a babysitter. Come on kiddies how about we watch a movie? I have Blades of Glory,” Armin suggested.

“Okay.”

“Fine.” Armin went to put in the DVD, then turned to me.

“Jean, are you planning on spending the night?”

“Uhm, yeah. If you don’t mind.”

“That’s fine. You can just sleep there in my bed. I’ll just sleep on the floor.”

“No you won’t. You can sleep with me,” Eren and I said in an alarming unison. We frowned at each other. Armin just laughed and turned off the lights. Eren grasped his wrist and pulled him into the bed with him. I slid under the covers on Armin’s bed and closed my eyes. The soreness and the tiredness that had been at bay swallowed me up and hauled me off to dreamland shortly thereafter.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

I awoke to a shuffling noise followed by an exceedingly bright light. “Wakey, wakey, sleeping beauty. Time to get up,” Eren cooed obnoxiously.

“Jaeger, if you do not close those curtains right now I’m going to shove a pair of knitting needles so far up your ass that when I force feed you yarn you’ll shit scarves.”

“How does Marco even put up with your ass in the mornings,” he muttered. “You probably have class so I assume you need to get up. At least I have class so I have to leave,” he said louder.

“Where’s Armin?” I wondered.

“Class. He has a really early one. I’m leaving for mine now. Go get yourself some coffee,” he added before he shut the door. I glanced at the clock on Armin’s desk. It was only just past nine. I didn’t have class until eleven. Going back to sleep wasn’t really an option so I got myself out of bed. I slid my bag over and propped it on the bed next to me. Apparently in my grab for random shit last night had yielded three pairs of underwear, one black sock, one gray sock, sweatpants, and a shirt that was totally not mine. I held it up to get a look at it. If the blue candle and swirling script proclaiming the title of one of Marco’s favorite books wasn’t enough, the smell of lavender and cloves was a dead giveaway. It must have fallen into my laundry by mistake on laundry day. Well since I had nothing else to wear, and I wasn’t feeling up to confronting Marco yet, I rolled with it. As much as I hated to admit it, Eren was right, I needed coffee. I threw my dirty clothes into my bag and made the walk over to Hanji’s café.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

“Welcome! Oh sweetie you don’t look so good. Let me get you your coffee.”

“Thanks, Hanji,” I smiled. I slid into a stool along the little bar area and watched Hanji pour my cup.

“Here’s that and,” she reached in the glass case next to us, “take this. On the house. You look like you need a pick me up,” she slid one of her new pumpkin and cranberry muffins towards me. I took a gulp of my coffee and sighed.

“Thank you. I do need one,” I admitted. Hanji’s smile faltered for a moment. She turned away when an oven dinged somewhere in the back and she went to fetch some fresh baked goods.

“These new muffins are selling like hot cakes. I can’t keep them on the shelf,” she said aloud. “I’ve already sold over fifty of them and gave away two just this morning.” I scrunched my brow at her in confusion. “Oh yes, I had another young man much like yourself come in this morning. He looked a little out of sorts, but I really knew something was wrong when all he ordered was a single chai tea latte. Odd really. Not his usual pair of drinks.” I stared down into my coffee, feeling the guilty pull at my stomach. “He said he didn’t want to talk about it, but if I had to guess I’d say he looked like he just had a fight with one of his best friends.” I hunched in on myself and refused to look up. “I’ll bet he decided not to go to class today. In fact I bet he went straight back to his room, his empty, silent room. All by himself.” I sighed and stood up. “Here,” she pressed another muffin into my hand, “you should take him one too.” I puffed air out through my nose in a small, quiet laugh.

“I owe you one, Hanji.”

“Go get him, sweetie,” she chirped.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

_Marco’s POV_

I wandered back to my room slowly. Skipping one day of classes would not hurt me. Nac left last night after the movie ended, which wasn’t too late. However, the dark circles under my eyes were a clear indication as to how well I slept. I couldn’t remember my dreams for the life of me, but I must have been pretty active. When I neared my door I noticed a small envelope taped to it. I hadn’t seen this when I left earlier. Though to be fair, I was lost in a haze with a need for caffeine. I peeled it off carefully. The envelope had no name on it, but was littered with little dots. I opened it up to find a note. _Soft summer breezes, cause your wings to flutter, when my eyes land on you, my heart it does stutter. If you were a butterfly, then I would endeavor, to pin you under glass, and keep you forever._ Signed with the little troll. I could feel the telltale prickles of a blush warm my cheeks. I quickly stuffed the note back in the envelope and unlocked my door. Jean’s side of the room looked just the same as it had last night, he hadn’t been back yet. I tucked the note into the bottom drawer of my desk with the others then went over to the TV. Ah, Harvest Moon, my old friend. I need some good old farm escapism. I cared for the animals, tended my crops, and started an adventure in the mine before Jean came back. “Hey,” he called softly.

“Hi.” I continued playing my game, unsure if he was still upset.

“I brought you a muffin from Hanji. It’s one of the new ones.”

“Thanks. Can you just set it on my desk?” He didn’t respond, but I heard movement behind me so I assumed he did as I asked.

“I’m sorry, Marco.” I paused my game and turned around to actually face him. He was standing staring at the muffin on my desk. I remained silent and waited for him to continue. “I’m sorry I was such an ass last night. I’ve just been frustrated and tired with the extra pressure and shit lately. I know that’s not an excuse, but it is an explanation.” I nodded, but mostly to myself since he still refused to look at me.

“Thanks. You know if there’s anything I can do to help…” I trailed off, unsure how I could. Jean turned to me and smiled as he shook his head. He gave a long sigh before he spoke, “No, thank you. I think I just need to get over myself. I’ll be fine.”

 

_Jean’s POV_

Marco eyed me warily, like he wasn’t fully buying what I was selling. I hadn’t lied to him. Everything I said was true. Just not the full truth. Because I had to put his comfort first. For now at least until I could figure out where my little crush belonged between us. I’d tell him later. Another time. Another day. “Alright. Wanna smash some rocks to help me find precious materials?” he asked, offering the controller to me.

“Sure. I could use some cartoon labor right about now,” I smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you get the reference in the second note? I couldn't help myself.
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)  
> Also I track the tag #fic: sina uni  
> (honestly though with tumblr you just never know if stuff will actually show)
> 
> This was so totally not beta-d so if you find spelling/grammar/general errors feel free to message me


	10. Halloween Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who ordered the Halloween Special in May? What? No one? Well I guess I'll just leave this here then...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Trigger Warnings](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3477761)  
>  A tiny update to the trigger warnings here.  
> I'm sorry this chapter is far later than I planned on putting it out. *insert usual excuses about work, school, finals, projects, etc. here*  
> Please accept this extra long chapter, well Halloween Special, as an apology.  
> And also thank you. Thank you for reading this fic. Thank you for your wonderful comments. Thank you for everything. I will always be amazed by any attention this fic gets because I honestly never expected this to get any.

**Chapter 10**

_Marco’s POV_

_Master Marco Bodt,_

_You are cordially invited to the Boddy Manor for an evening of fine dining and celebration this All Hallow’s Eve. Guests are to arrive promptly at 6:30pm. Dinner is to be served at 7. Please attire yourself in proper evening wear. RSVP your attendance or lack thereof to Master Connie Springer or Mistress Sasha Braus._

Sasha’s home address was included at the bottom of the invitation. Boddy Manor? That rang a bell, but what… oh it was a Clue reference. “Hey, Jean, did you get one of these?” Jean looked to see what I was holding up.

“No? What is it?” Weird. I would have thought Connie and Sasha would have invited Jean too.

“It’s an invitation to Springles’ Halloween party. Maybe they just figured I’d bring you anyway so they only sent one. You’ll go with me won’t you?”

“Yeah, sure. Do I have to wear a costume?” he grimaced. Party pooper.

“No, but you do have to dress up in, and I quote, ‘proper evening wear’,” I said ominously.

“Ugh. I don’t even own something like that,” Jean complained.

“I smell a shopping trip! Come on, sunshine. You didn’t have any plans today right? I’ll call Sasha on the way to the mall.” I bounced off my bed and walked over to my shoes. Jean sighed behind me.

“If you expect me to get through a shopping trip without maiming someone I am going to need more caffeine, starlight,” he pouted, but started putting on his shoes.

“Fine, fine. Must protect the human race from your severe caffeine withdrawal symptoms.”

 

~~~~~~~~

 

We had grabbed our usual drinks and some bagels for the road from Millius. I dialed up Sasha from the hands-free calling in my car after we started our little road trip. “Hello,” she cooed into the phone.

“Hey, Sash.”

“What’s up, buttercup?”

“I got the invitation for the party. I wanted to call and RSVP. Also, can I bring Jean?”

“Yay! Of course. He got an invitation too, didn’t he? I gave Connie one to drop off for each of you,” she sounded confused.

“Ah, no. But that’s okay. We figured you wanted both of us to attend anyway. In fact we’re going to buy Jean a suit now.”

“Oh! Can he hear me now? Hi Jeany!”

“Hi, Sasha,” he greeted back.

“You can trust Marco to find you something good. I mean, not to brag, but he was trained by the very best.”

“Can’t argue with that. Sasha knows what she’s doing in the fashion department,” I added.

“I’m in for a long day,” Jean mumbled into his coffee. I flashed a quick smile at him.

“Okay Sash, we’re gonna go now. I’ll talk to you later, yeah?”

“Okee dokee. Have fun you two. Buh bye!” We pulled into the crowded parking lot. I drove around until I found a space that was at least mildly close to the entrance. Jean and I stumbled out of the car in unison (is there even a graceful way to get out of a car). Just inside the doors was a gigantic map of the mall. I pulled Jean over to it.

“Humm. Well we’re closest to this store. Wanna go look there first?” I asked.

“Sure. Sounds logical to me,” he agreed. Apparently my choice was spot on. As we approached the store I saw suits of all sizes, styles, and colors lining the walls. We were greeted by a sales associate immediately upon entrance. His brown hair was slicked back and even his handlebar mustache was gelled into place. His suit was black and fitted; and a tape measure rested around his neck. The round spectacles he wore sat low on the bridge of his nose.

“How can I help you two gentleman?” He eyed us. Clearly we weren’t typical clientele.

“We’re here for a suit for my friend. We have a dinner party to go to,” I gave him a disarmingly pleasant smile. Anyone who thought I didn’t use my innocent face for my manipulative gains was entirely mistaken. The man’s gaze flicked between us a few times before relenting.

“Follow me,” he clipped and turned on his heel. We followed obediently. He led us over to an area of curtains and benches; clearly fitting rooms. “So you are getting the suit?” he questioned Jean.

“Yes?” he made it sound like he wasn’t sure.

“Very well. Stand here. Face that way. Arms out to your sides. And stand still,” he directed. Jean assumed the pose while I took a seat on the bench in front of him. He looked like a martyr having the man get in his personal space. I laughed behind my hand when the man dropped down to his knees to measure for the inseam. Jean’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “I’ll be right back with a few things for you to try on.” The associate walked away at that.

“Oh my god. Did you see how close he was to my junk?” he stage whispered. I rolled my eyes and laughed.

“What? You don’t like men that close to your junk, Jean?”

“No. What I don’t like is men getting that close to my junk without buying me dinner first.” He crossed his arms and stuck his nose up in the air. That did me in. I laughed so hard I snorted. The man chose that moment to wander back and give us both dirty looks.

“Here try these,” he handed Jean over his findings and ushered him into the changing room. The first suit he stepped out in was a very classically tailored black suit. Underneath he wore a white dress shirt and a slim black tie. No bells and whistles. He looked good, but…

“Meh?” Jean looked at me.

“Meh,” I agreed. Too traditional for him. Jean stepped back behind the curtain to try on the next one. I let my eyes wander around the store. Mannequins were staged in groups. I couldn’t decide whether their headlessness made them more or less creepy. On one mannequin off to the side I spotted a gray on gray pinstripe suit. It had a mock double-breasted style jacket with black buttons. There were pants and a vest to match. “Excuse me, sir? Would you happen to have that suit in his size?” The associate followed my pointed finger and paused in thought.

“Perhaps. I shall go look.” He walked away. While he was gone looking Jean stepped out in another suit. This one was exceptionally fitted and violently red. Offensively red.

“Ah! Shield your eyes. Don’t look directly into it,” I joked, covering my own eyes. I peeked out in time to see Jean roll his eyes.

“As much as I love my red and black, this is a no on so many levels.” I nodded. The man returned with the suit as requested and a black shirt and black tie to go with.

“Your bo-,” he glanced over at me, “he requested you try this one on,” he hung the suit up in the changing room and removed all the other suit pieces. Jean shrugged at me and went to try my pick. I pulled out my phone and flicked through my tumblr dashboard of gray boxes.

“So? What do you think?” I looked up at Jean and had to remind myself to click my jaw shut. Holy crap. I gave him a once-over. Then I had to give him a twice-over. He looked good. “Well?” My staring was making him turn red in the cheeks. I smiled.

“Looks sharp. I like it. Oh, but do you like it?” He nodded and turned around to stare in the full length mirror at the back of the dressing room. Oh god, don’t look at his butt. _Don’t look at his butt._ I was too weak for such things. I full on ogled his butt. Thankfully the sales associate saved me from embarrassing myself.

“Here turn towards me.” He pulled several pins from a case in his pocket and went to work on the suit. It was a tad big in some places for Jean. Once finished he admired his work from afar. I nodded at Jean, Jean nodded at the man.

“I’ll take it.”

“Very well. Change then. I shall take the pieces that need altering and wrap up the pieces that don’t for you to take with you today.” Jean went back into the changing room and came back out in his regular clothes. We followed behind the associate to the registers.

“Ah, I’m going to go to the bathroom.” I pointed just across from the store. “Meet me outside there when you’re done?”

“Sure, sure.” I wandered away. That was my punishment for the unnecessarily large chai tea latte this morning. When I came back out Jean was leaning against the wall. “Well, I hope you don’t mind the fact that I’m going to be prostituting myself from our dorm room in order to pay for this suit.”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t even look at the price. Was it that bad? If it was too much you didn’t have to get it. We could have shopped around more.” I had cracked the knuckles on all ten of my fingers by the time Jean ended my rant by making a cutting motion with his hand.

“Don’t worry. It wasn’t that bad. Plus I used my emergencies only credit card from my dad.”

“This counts as an emergency?”

“My dad is a lawyer. A fancy dinner party without a nice suit to wear to it would be an emergency for him,” he laughed bitterly.

“Okay. If you’re sure.”

“Did you need to get something to wear?” he asked, looking around.

“Ah, no. I have something at home. I’ll just have my mom send it to me.”

“Please don’t tell me you plan on wearing a kilt.” I beamed at him.

“Well I wasn’t planning on it, but now that you mention it…”

“No. No. Fucking no.”

“Fine, fine. I promise not to wear my kilt.”

“You make it sound like you actually have one,” he eyed me suspiciously.

“Why, Jean, what kind of a Scotsman would I be if I didn’t own a kilt?”

“A fucking perfectly normal one. As German as I am you don’t see a pair of lederhosen in my closet,” he countered.

“Fair point. I’m hungry again. Let’s stop at the food court.”

 

~~~~~~~~

 

_Jean’s POV_

“Marco! We’re gonna be late! Hurry it u-,” I stopped dead in my tracks. Marco had moved to the bathroom to shower and get ready for the party. He had refused to let me see what he was going to wear. When I stomped through the doorway I got an eyeful. As promised he was not wearing a kilt. Instead he sported a pair of red, plaid, fitted slacks. They should have looked gaudy, but he made them work. He paired them with a fitted black jacket, black button-up shirt, and a thin white tie. “Woah.”

“I guess I’ll take that as a compliment,” he laughed. Shit, I said that out loud.

“Uhm, yeah. You look… nice.” Nice? He looked way better than just fucking nice.

“You look good too.” No doubt it was just my imagination that his eyes devoured me from head to toe. “Are you wearing eyeliner?” he asked.

“Yup. Got a problem with it?”

“Nope,” he shook his head, “your eyes pop in a really cool way.” It was a good thing he went back to fixing his hair, because if he kept going I was going to be permanently red. I rubbed at my cheeks. “So you’re still sure you want to come with me when I go home tomorrow? I’m sure Sasha wouldn’t mind if you stayed with her one more night.”

“Nah, it’s cool. Plus your mom’s note that came with your clothes did say ‘Bring Jean with you.’ Speaking of which, funny that your mom knows who I am…”

“Yeah, weird. She must be psychic. Wouldn’t put it past her,” he shrugged.

“Uh huh. Sure,” I exaggerated out the last word.

“Okay fine so I may have mentioned you like once.” I quirked an eyebrow at his reflection in the mirror. “Okay maybe like twice.” I crossed my arms. “Fine, fine I talk about you all the time. Don’t look at me like your mom hasn’t heard all about me.”

“Touché, starlight. Now let’s get a move on. I’m getting hangry.” His eyebrows scrunched up and he looked up at me. “Angry and crabby because I’m hungry, hangry.”

“Okay. I’m ready. Let’s go.”

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Marco drove out to Sasha’s. It was just a couple of hours from campus. As we pulled up out front I realized it wasn’t a house. “You didn’t tell me she actually lived in a mansion. I thought that was just a gimmick for the invitation. Holy shit.”

“Oh, yeah, I guess. Sash’s family is pretty affluent. I guess I never really thought much about it. I’ve known her for so long too.” Marco pulled up the long driveway and parked in a marked spot (no joke) along the side. Marco rang the doorbell when we reached the front door. Connie flung it open.

“Marco!” and then turning behind him, “Sash, Marco and Jean are here!”

“Marco!” A blur of pink and frills flew by and slammed into Marco. How he managed to catch her and stay upright was amazing. However one look at him and something told me that Sasha did this every chance she got. “And Jean!” she squealed and smushed me into a bone crushing hug.

“Hi, Sasha,” I wheezed.

“Where is that enthusiasm when you see me?” Connie griped.

“Connie!” she grabbed him and put him in a headlock.

“Ah! I surrender. I don’t want that much love. Unhand me you crazy woman.” Sasha did let him go, but not before she licked a wet stripe up his cheek like an excited puppy.

“Come on in boys,” Sasha gestured. We followed, Marco chatting, me gawking, and Connie wiping spit off his face. The entryway had a high ceiling decorated with a crystal chandelier and crown molding. There was a grand staircase that was actually two staircases that came down on each side of the room in an arc to meet at a large door in the center on the main level. We bypassed the stairs and walked through the door. Beyond that lay a large dining hall set up with one large table and several smaller tables around the outskirts with hors d’oeuvres and drinks. I bumped straight into Marco’s back when he stopped abruptly.

“Walk much? Or should I say trot much?” I shot Eren a scathing look and flipped him the bird. Eren stuck his hand into his pants pocket and dug around. His face brightened as he apparently found whatever it was he was looking for. When he pulled his hand out it was poised with his middle finger up. He aimed the gesture at me and stuck his tongue out. I jammed both of my hands into my pockets and stuck both of my middle fingers up. I drew them quickly and made little pew pew motions as if dueling with guns. I blew the imaginary smoke off each finger in turn, then holstered them back at my sides with a smirk. I felt a pinch on my ear just as I heard Eren squawk. When my vision righted itself I saw Armin pinching Eren’s ear and yanking him down to the side. I cast a petulant glance up at Marco who had done the same to me.

“You’re supposed to be on my side,” I pouted.

“You two weirdos can express your special brand of friendship some other time,” Armin spoke, releasing Eren. He rubbed at his ear and shot Armin a wounded look. Marco released me and cast me a glance that clearly said _we behave like adults at the fancy dinner party_.

“Armin, Eren, Mikasa, you all look really nice,” he said. I actually stopped to take in what they were wearing. Armin was in a royal blue suit with a black dress shirt. Eren wore a similar look, but his suit was a deep emerald. Mikasa had on a sleek and simple, floor length dress in a vibrant red. The looked like a jewel tone trio.

“I know there was a Clue theme to this party, but did you all have to come as Mr. Green, Miss Scarlet, and Mrs. Peacock?” I asked.

“It was all Armin’s idea. I don’t know why I let him talk me into it,” Eren grumbled. Armin turned to Eren and smoothed his hands down his lapels that had been ruffled when he was manhandled.

“You know I would never make you wear anything that made you look bad. I think you look handsome,” Armin commented as he straightened Eren’s tie. He cast his glance off to the side, and if I’m not mistaken, Eren was a tad pinker in the cheeks than usual.

“I think you all look great! I’m so glad you got into the spirit of the night!” Sasha bubbled. “Here,” she and Connie handed drinks around, “sparkling grape juice for everyone.”

“No alcohol? I’m shocked,” I commented.

“Jean, precious muffin face, you don’t need alcohol to have a good time. Plus I think you’re going to need all the brain power you can muster tonight,” she smiled brightly. I just scrunched my eyebrows at her. “You’ll see.” I stood there and listened to Marco and Armin fall into easy conversation until the doorbell rang. Springles went to answer it. A booming voice echoed through the closed door and only increased in volume when it burst open. I didn’t have to turn around to know that the inhumanly large duo and their blonde little Vulcan had arrived. Immediately, I found myself squished along with Marco into a giant bear hug courtesy of a blonde giant.

“Jean! Marco! Look at you two! You look great! Nice pants, by the way, Marco,” Reiner smiled and gave us another squeeze before he released us. “Mikasa, Eren, Armin! Look the whole lunch group did make it after all.”

“Of course. How could we miss out on the party?” Eren wheezed as the three were also captured in a suffocating hug.

“Welp, now that everyone is here, let’s eat!” Sasha seemed way too excited to finally be getting to the food. She and Connie ran back to the kitchen to push out serving carts with plates full of delicious looking food. We all gathered around the table. Plates were passed one-by-one around the table as we all took a portion for ourselves. There was much chatting and scraping of silverware on china to be heard.

“Sasha did you cook all of this by yourself?” Bertholdt asked.

“Well, with a teensy bit of help from Connie, but yes.”

“Hey, if I hadn’t been there the food would have all ended up in your stomach!” Connie exclaimed. “I even made the mac n cheese and the mashed potatoes,” he huffed. Sasha just pinched his cheek.

“Of course, my cute, little dumpling.” She placed a placating kiss on the aforementioned cheek. I cleaned my plate in record time. We all knew Sasha was skilled at the eating part when it came to food, but clearly she was also skilled at the cooking part. When I looked around it seemed that everyone else agreed as I saw only empty plates. “Who’s ready for dessert?”

“Me!” Connie exclaimed. He bolted from his chair and ran for the kitchen. Sasha followed after at an equally speedy pace. I listened to the table chat idly to themselves. Several people got up to stretch their legs or wander around and admire the room. Minutes ticked by and Connie and Sasha never returned. I looked over at Marco to see if he realized it too. He was flicking his gaze over to the kitchen door every few moments.

“Alright, you guys better not have eaten all of the cake without leaving me a piece,” Sasha called as she burst back through the kitchen door. The room fell dead silent. She stopped in her tracks halfway to the table. “Where’s Connie?” I glanced around the table, then around the room. Connie was nowhere in sight.

“We thought he was with you,” Bertholdt said.

“No, I went to the bathroom. I told him to take the cake and start cutting it up… Did he not come out here?” I shook my head as did everyone else. “That little shit! He took the cake all for himself. After I slaved over it. It was so pretty too. I am going to hunt his ass down if it’s the last thing I do!” She turned on her heel and burst back through the kitchen door. A chorus of chairs scraping along the floor rose as we all hurried to follow after her. As much as Sasha loved Connie, you did not come between her and her food. She most likely would not kill him, but that didn’t mean she wouldn’t maim him. I followed the group into the kitchen to find it empty. Some people, Sasha included, were looking in the cabinets. Connie may be short, but I doubted we’d find him in there. I moved on out the opposite door to find myself in a long hallway. Marco was right behind me.

“Maybe he slipped off to go to the bathroom himself?” Marco offered.

“Maybe. I’ll go this way down the hall,” I pointed to my right, “and you go that way,” I pointed to my left. He nodded. I started to wander. The doors were all open. A bathroom, a study, a den with a large fireplace, a library, but no Connie. I turned around and looked at Marco.

“Nothing but empty guest rooms over here,” he shouted at me. Weird. A blood curdling scream, barely muffled by the walls, pierced the silent air. I ran back through the door, Marco at my heels. The kitchen was empty when we bolted through it. I caught sight of Armin’s back as he disappeared through the door at the other side of the banquet hall. I pushed myself faster, panic rising. I could hear my heartbeat echo in my ears. I shoved past Reiner and Bertholdt to see what everyone else stood staring at, but stopped dead in my tracks, my previous momentum rocking me forward momentarily. Connie was laying sprawled on the floor at the foot of one of the staircases. A spot of crimson red visibly stained his head. Scarlet liquid pooled on the carpet beneath him. Sasha was white as a ghost. She dropped to her knees near him. I felt Marco brush past me to go to her side. He wrapped his arm around her gently and squeezed. Then, he leaned over Connie. Marco put his ear to Connie’s chest and paused, eyes closed. He jerked his head up abruptly and rubbed his finger across the wound on Connie’s head. Slowly Marco rubbed his finger and thumb together, then licked the red traces away.

“Eww!”

“Marco!”

“What the fuck, man?”

“Ketchup? Ketchup and water?” he said so quietly I almost didn’t hear. Faint giggling started. I looked at the faces on either side of me. All of them displayed equal amounts of confusion and or irritation. I looked back over at the two huddled around the figure that was…now beginning to convulse with laughter on the floor. Connie clutched at his stomach in hysterics, Sasha began to join him.

“Oh man. You guys should have seen your faces. I mean I thought we did decent on the fake blood, and I know we’re theatre majors, but sheesh!” Connie chuckled. Someone threw a shoe that smacked him right in the head where the fake wound was. I don’t know who, but I planned on hugging them as soon as I found out. “Oww. Seriously you guys I didn’t think you’d fall for it.” Sasha threw her arms around Marco’s neck and tackled him to the floor.

“I’m sorry, cupcake. I didn’t mean to worry you,” Sasha said.

“Well, it is a Clue party,” Armin mused.

“Bingo, lemon merengue pie. It’s a Clue party after all. And what would a Clue party be without a murder mystery?” she finished in an ominous whisper.

“As much as I kind of hate you both right now, I can’t hate you all that much because I really should have expected this from you two,” Marco sighed.

“Yay! Time to solve a murder!” Connie squealed.

“Shut up, dead people don’t talk…or move,” I snarked at him. Connie flopped back down on the floor with a pout. “So…now what?”

“We look for clues?” Armin shrugged.

“All right gang. Let’s split up. Bertholdt, Annie, you come with me and we’ll search upstairs. Jean and Marco, you two search downstairs. And Mikasa, Armin, and Eren…you three do…what you three do best,” Reiner instructed.

“Rokay Reiner. Rom’on Rarmin, Rikasa, ret’s ro rearch rhe ritchen,” Eren joked.

“Not so fast,” Sasha stopped them. “We’ve got ourselves some rules you all should probably know first. To start, someone in the house is the murderer.”

“The butler did it,” Eren interrupted with a note of duh to his voice.

“No.”

“Then the maid did it.”

“No, we don’t have a butler or a maid. I mean they’re not here right now. Anyway, the murderer knows who they are. They were briefed before the party. And are also not allowed to disclose their identity. If that person is ever in a room alone with someone, they must kill them. So I wouldn’t be so quick to split up. There are likely clues hidden around the house that the killer may have left behind. Each person gets one and only one guess as to who the murderer is. You guess wrong, you’re out. Winner gets a special prize. Losers have to hang out with Connie as punishment.”

“Hey!”

“Anyway, safety first! Find your clues. Report your guesses back to the ‘dead body’. If you get lost just text me,” Sasha smiled. I walked over to our “corpse” for the evening. Judging from the “head wound” and location of the “body”, my initial guess would be a fall down the stairs. I turned around and moved towards the nearest staircase. Sure enough Connie and Sasha had not skimped on the details. There were “blood” smears on the carpet from the bottom up a good number of stairs.

“Connie was pushed down the stairs.” I pointed to the uppermost stair with a red spatter on it. “He was coming down the stairs and someone shoved him from about… here,” I estimated based on Connie’s height. “He fell, hit his head on the step, and it was lights out from there on down.”

“How do you know he didn’t just trip on his own two feet and fall?” Eren remarked. Apparently he was the one who had thrown the shoe and hopped around on one foot while retying it on the other foot held up off the ground.

“Good question. I would venture to say that he was pushed. He fell fairly far down the stairs. My guess would be that if he just tripped he wouldn’t have had enough momentum to carry him all of the way down to here. That and the fact that this is a Clue party and therefore he had to be murdered,” Marco supplied.

“So that begs the question, why was he upstairs? Last we saw, Connie had gone into the kitchen with Sasha to get the cake. Sasha claims she went to the bathroom and told Connie to bring the cake in. All of us were in the dining hall and none of us saw Connie come through that way right?” I watched everyone assembled nod.

“We never did find that cake. Maybe that’s where we should start?” Marco suggested.

“Great! Alright gang, like I was saying earlier, Annie, Bertholdt, Jean, Marco, and I will search the right wing upstairs. Mikasa, Eren, and Armin, you guys search the left wing. Call if you find anything,” Reiner ordered and marched up the stairs past me. Bertholdt, Annie, and Marco trailed after. Eren lead Armin and Mikasa up the other set of stairs to search the other side of the house.

The first room that we entered look like it was probably the master bedroom. Then again, this was more of a mansion than a house. Maybe all of the rooms were this large and lavish. We walked in on a small seating area. Two couches sat in an L-shape facing a TV mounted on the wall to my right. A near floor to ceiling window stretched across the wall opposite me. I could see lightening flash outside in the distance. To my left the floor raised up a step. There was a four-poster canopy bed against the far wall. A screen was drawn partially across the opening to distinguish between the common area and sleeping area. Bertholdt and Annie each took a couch. Reiner investigated the window and a potted plant next to it. I walked over to the bed. There was a doorway to the left. It was a long walk-in closet and another doorway was parallel to the first. That one lead to a gleaming bathroom. I figured I would start there and work my way backwards. Nothing special in the shower or soaker tub. The cabinets and drawers held both men’s and women’s grooming supplies, confirming my earlier guess that this was the master bedroom. The toilet was (thankfully) empty of any clues as well. “Hey, Jean!” I turned around. Marco waved me over to where he stood by the bed. “Look,” he pointed under the lifted edge of the mattress.

“Good job, Marco. You found Sasha’s parent’s condom stash,” I rolled my eyes.

“No, Jean, you don’t understand. Sasha’s dad had a vasectomy several years ago. And as far as I’m aware they’re monogamous. Which would mean they would have no need for these unless…” I looked at Marco. He looked a little green.

“Do you think this is an actual clue Connie and Sasha planted or…” I did not want to think of the alternative. I picked up the packets and flipped them over in my hand.

_Congrats! You found a clue! C &S_

Well that answered that question. I heard Marco exhale as he read the writing on the condoms over my shoulder. But how did this connect with the fake murder of Connie? Maybe he discovered she had an affair. And was blackmailing her? An extortion scheme. Yup, sounds like something those two would cook up. “Hey, guys!” I turned to beckon Annie, Bertholdt, and Reiner over, but they weren’t in sight. “What the heck? They abandoned us!” I looked at Marco. He looked at me. Nothing happened. “You’re not the murderer.”

“Neither are you,” he pointed out.

“Of course I’m not. If anyone, I’d expect you first.”

“Me!?”

“Yeah. Their long-term partner in crime. Logical.”

“Okay fair point. I’m not, however.”

“So, wait, who the heck is? I mean based on this clue I’d guess Sasha’s mom. Maybe Connie ‘found out’ about the ‘affair’ and threatened to open his mouth or blackmailed her.”

“I don’t think her parents are home though. Unless they’re in the theater.”

“Theater?”

“Yeah. They have a home theater and also a wine cellar in their basement,” Marco explained. Damn rich people. Sure my dad had money, but the emergencies only credit card he gave me on my eighteenth birthday was the first real taste of it that I had. This was just…wow. “I guess we should go find the others and show them what we found.” We walked out into the hallway where we could hear voices coming from another room. The three musketeers were huddled around a fireplace.

“Hey, thanks for abandoning us.” Reiner just flashed a smile at us.

“It was a calculated risk. If one of you was the ‘killer’ then we’d know. But seeing as you’re both here, that must mean neither of you is.”

“Great, now that that’s out of the way, did you find anything useful?”

“Look for yourself,” Annie pointed into the fireplace. On top of the logs sat a partially charred piece of paper.

“A ticket?”

“A plane ticket. To Paris, France,” she clarified. I plucked it out of the soot and sure enough on the back was the same writing as the condoms in Sasha’s bubbly scrawl. I turned the blackened clue around in my hands while Marco showed off and explained our clue.

“So going on this affair theory, how does the burnt ticket fit in?” Bertholdt thought aloud.

“Well someone was meant to use the ticket to go to Paris. But now it’s burnt…”

“It’s unlikely that the person who was meant to use it was the one who burnt it. If they went to the trouble to get it in the first place…” Marco added.

“Unless someone else bought it for them. Maybe this lover of Mrs. Braus bought her a ticket to run away to Paris with him.”

“That would be a pretty strong no for her to burn it though. She could have just declined.”

“Maybe he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Maybe someone else burned it so she couldn’t go. Connie?”

“But if we’re working off a blackmail theory that wouldn’t fit.”

“I have an idea,” Annie interrupted, “let’s go hunt for more clues.” I shrugged at Marco. She had a point. They only way to figure it out was to hunt down more clues. Nothing had come from Armin, Mikasa, and Eren. So we decided to wander back downstairs and hopefully squeeze information out of Sasha before reconvening.

“Are they going to do that every time we find a clue?” Bertholdt whispered loud enough for me to hear.

“Probably,” was Reiner’s immediate response.

“Hey, Sasha!” Marco called as we descended the stairs. “Is your mom home?”

“Oh, Marco, why do you ask?” she answered too innocently.

“You know why I asked. Trying to solve your boyfriend’s fake murder here. Wanna help?”

“You’re no fun! Maybe you should look around and see for yourself.”

“We’ve already been all over the main floor. And the upstairs. I doubt the other three ran into her, but it would be easy to ask if they had. The only place she could honestly be is in the basement. Do you really want to make us wander down there?”

“No she’s not home.”

“Thank you.”

“Well that rules that theory out,” I huffed. Just then Eren appeared at the top of the staircase.

“Hey, guys, we found something! Come see!” We trudged back up the stairs and ducked into a room at the far end of the hall. Mikasa and Armin were reading over a note.

“Where are we?” I asked out loud without thinking.

“It’s the yoga/meditation/relaxation room,” Marco explained.

“I’m sorry I asked. What did you guys find?”

“Well, we found the cake. And this note,” Armin handed it over to me and I read it aloud.

“My darling, go to the room where I kissed you goodbye last I saw you. You’ll find my gift for you there. Love always, Me.” It had a chunk torn out of the top and some brown stains dotted the surface.

“We don’t understand it,” Mikasa said. Marco filled them in on the other clues we found and the running affair theory.

“This would mean, then, that Connie was the one having an affair with Mrs. Braus. I don’t think I want to know which of the two of them came up with this idea.” We all shuddered at Marco’s conclusion.

“But how would she have known Connie would find the note and not Sasha? How could she have been so sure? Unless-“ I stopped. I walked briskly away from the group, towards the dual staircases.

“Jean!”

“Wait!”

“Where are you going?” I heard the footsteps as everyone followed me down to where our puppet masters sat chatting and playing on their phones.

“Sasha killed Connie. She had to. The note we found with the cake. The note left for Connie. There’s no way your mom would have known Connie would find it. But you, you sent Connie to get the cake. You knew he would find the note. Had overheard them kissing goodbye the last time he was here. That’s how you found out about the affair. You were angry. So when he fell for the bait you followed him. And when he confirmed your fears you chased him down the stairs and pushed him to his death.”

“Wow”

“A nice theory you have there, jelly bean, but it’s half-baked. You’re wrong,” Sasha shook her head.

“Impossible,” I argued.

“Possible. You’re not thinking hard enough.”

 

~~~~~~~~

 

_Marco’s POV_

Wrong? That would have been my instinct as well. We must be missing a piece. An important piece. That note with the cake, it had a chunk torn off. Maybe left where it was attached. I took the cake from Eren and looked on the bottom of the plate. Nothing. But he must have found the note when he went to retrieve the cake. So that other piece must be… I walked away from the group, ignoring their questions. “I’ll be right back.” I walked back to the kitchen and yanked open the fridge. There was a large empty space where the cake sat, but no paper. The note had been covered in some sort of brown something. Hmm brown stuff, brown stuff…of course. Chocolate milk! I lifted the carton up and found the small missing piece of the note taped under the jug. I took it with me and darted back out to the foyer as I ran the scenario through my head. There had to be one last piece of the puzzle to tie the whole thing into one cohesive storyline. I looked around the room and saw a wad of paper resting between two rails on the staircase. I picked it up. It was a balled up note.

_My darling,_

_I knew you would remember. I hid a ticket in your favorite book in the library. Get it, then meet me at the airport._

_Love always,_

_Me_

I flipped the note over. Sure enough there was the same writing as on every other clue. I flipped the note back over to the front. Back to the back. The handwritings were…different. So either Sasha altered her handwriting or she actually roped her mom into this. Either way. “Connie killed himself.” A cacophony of confusion rose from everyone else’s mouths. Sasha just smiled like a proud parent.

“Elaborate,” was all she said.

“You went to the bathroom and sent Connie to get the cake. Connie has a well-known addiction to chocolate milk. There was no way he could resist. The note telling him to go upstairs from your mother was there. When he reached the room he found another note, the one here on the stairs. It told him where to find the airplane ticket. They were running away to be with each other. In his excitement to leave he tripped while running down the stairs and went tumbling. When I hugged you earlier your perfume was stronger. You had put more on. Meaning you used your bathroom upstairs. When you came back this way you saw the body sprawled on the floor. You saw the ticket and the note. ‘A ticket to Paris?’ you thought. But then you read the note he had. Recognized your mother’s handwriting. You crumpled up the note and threw it in a fit of anger. You had to get rid of the ticket. Not enough time to start the fireplace upstairs, but enough to light the ticket with a lighter and leave it. Too bad for you, the ticket didn’t burn all the way. You lost the note. And never knew the other note existed. You sent us on a murderer hunt so you could find anything you missed and destroy it. Your father and family would be devastated if anyone found out about the affair. So you needed to cover it up.” The room was silent.

“Bravo. Good job, my peachy pie, I knew you would figure it out!”

“I think it was rigged,” Jean mumbled. I shot him an apologetic smile. He was probably still a bit sour about being wrong. Just then the doorbell rang. “Expecting someone else?”

“No more surprises, please,” Eren grumbled. Sasha went to go open the door. She looked around silently. I watched as she bent down and picked something up off the front step. A small piece of paper.

“What the heck?” she looked confused. I took the note and read it aloud.

“Double double, toil and trouble. Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. Cool it with a baboon’s blood. Then the charm is firm and good. Hallow’s Eve I’ll brew a spell. Kindred love it will compel. Unlike those who hide in masks. My true feelings shine through tasks. Grace you with my servitude. So devoted you’ll conclude. I’ll enrapture you my angel. Worship at your feet so faithful.” At the bottom was the same small, mechanical troll I was growing increasingly familiar with.

“Stupidest Halloween prank ever!” Connie shouted.

“You’re one to talk after tonight,” Jean countered.

“Hey, do you have any idea how hard it is to play dead?”

“Oh, yeah. So much effort to just lay there like a slug.” I pocketed the note while everyone was distracted by the ongoing banter. The grandfather clock clanged eleven o’clock, but it felt so much later. I looked around and saw sleep tugging at the eyes of the others as well.

“I’m sleepy,” I announced to no one in particular. Everyone nodded their heads and agreed.

“But, we never ate the cake!” Sasha pointed out.

“Put it in the fridge. Cake for breakfast,” I instructed.

“I like the way you think. Okay, everyone go grab your bags and stuff from your cars. I’ll go put the cake away, and then I’ll show you to your rooms.” We all filed, well shuffled like zombies, out the front door and retrieved our things. By the time we had all wandered back in Sasha was finished and showed us back to the guest rooms Jean and I had been by earlier. “There’s only four rooms so everyone has to double up and pick a sleeping buddy,” Sasha explained.

“I’m sleeping with Armin tonight,” Eren wrapped his arms loosely around Armin’s neck. Someone whistled a catcall and there were several “ow ow”s and “get it Eren”s shouted. “Oh my god, not like that.”

“Well the rooms have all been soundproofed,” Connie shrugged.

“You hear that, Bert? Sounds like a challenge to me!” Reiner shoved a now near catatonic from embarrassment Bertholdt into the nearest room and shut the door on the rest of us.

“I call not it for sleeping next to them!” Eren yelled and yanked Armin into a room across the hall. Immediately after I heard another slam which announced that Mikasa and Annie had taken the room next to Eren and Armin.

“Dang it,” I mumbled.

“They better hope these rooms are soundproof,” Jean added. “Come on, starlight, I’m tired.” I wished Connie and Sasha a goodnight and closed the door behind me. Jean had already ducked into the en suite bathroom to change and such. I plucked my pajamas out and took off some of my outermost layers of clothing. When Jean was finished we traded and I changed. He was already curled up in a ball on one side of the bed when I finished. I slid under the covers and stretched with a yawn.

“Goodnight, sunshine.”

“Sweet dreams,” he yawned, “starlight.” It was shortly after that a rhythmic thumping sound on the wall alerted us to the fact that the rooms were not, in fact, soundproof.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Headcanon: Sasha loves to use pet names, especially food themed ones.  
> If you find errors let me know, I've probably missed many.  
> Any comments or thoughts are so appreciated. You all have no idea. Without comments I'm just gonna keep doing whatever. I don't even know if that's good? I completely changed the direction I wanted to go in with this fic from when I first started writing it. And I don't know if any of you are still with me after that. Regardless, thanks for sticking this out with me.  
> Also:  
> Jean's suit inspiration: https://onthemeaningofadamlambert.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/adam-prom-night-attitude-mag.jpg  
> Marco's pants inspiration: http://g01.s.alicdn.com/kf/HT19LAdFMVbXXagOFbXN/220316950/HT19LAdFMVbXXagOFbXN.jpg  
> Jean loves Adam Lambert and no one will convince me otherwise.
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)


	11. Meet the Bodts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pretty self-explanatory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look I'm alive and writing.  
> Well after having the most horrific (and I mean just awful) writer's block with how to go about this chapter I found my inspiration. Cooper's Farm is actually based on a family owned farm just about 5 minutes up the road from my house, and their apple cider donuts give me life. You'll see more of it in action.

**Chapter 11**

_Marco’s POV_

My brain swam to the surface out of the ocean of unconsciousness. Tiny streams of light filtered through the cracks in the curtains. I could hear splashing water. When I rolled over the other side of the bed was warm, but unoccupied. Jean had managed to wake up before me? That was a first. I sluggishly rolled back over to grab my phone. 9:47 am. Wow, okay, apparently I needed more sleep than I thought. The bathroom door opened and a cloud of soapy smelling steam billowed in around Jean. “Look who finally decided to wake up,” he teased.

“Mmm,” I grumbled. Words were still too much effort. I stretched, cracked my joints, and grunted my satisfaction at each pop. “So comfy. Don’t wanna get up.”

 

“Who are you and what have you done with my Marco?” he mocked. “Is this how you really are every morning when I’m still sleeping? Is this the real reason you get up so early? Because you’re actually a giant sloth?”

“Yes, you caught me. I’m actually a sloth using this skin to blend in with the homo sapiens.”

“I knew you were too nice to be a real human,” Jean shook his head. “Come on. Get up and have yourself a shower. I’ll try to keep Sasha from eating all of the breakfast food before you get some.”

“Kay.” I rolled out of bed, landing on my hands and feet awkwardly. As much of a morning person as I was, it was always hard to abandon my bed. Once on my feet I could feel my senses awaken. I grabbed my bag and dragged my way to the bathroom. The hot shower was what I needed. My own little sanctuary. The smell still lingered from Jean’s shower just before my own. Inhaling deeply, I felt like I just wanted to crawl back into bed and continue cocooning myself in the aroma. The scent was thick, heavy, like a pine forest during a rainstorm. Or like someone lit a Christmas tree on fire…that first one sounded a lot nicer. Dear advertising agents for eau de Jean, go with the forest idea. Thanks. Love, Marco. I sped through my shower because even though Jean promised he would save me food, no person in their right mind would challenge a hungry Sasha. Not if they wanted to keep their fingers attached to their hands. Dressed and ready I walked out into the hallway.

“As much as the idea of boobs in my face pleases me, I am not pleased right now.”

“I think he would prefer balls in his face.”

“I think I would prefer you surrendering the precious food to me now.”

When I swung open the door I blinked a few times at the sight in front of me. Jean was kneeling on a chair, holding a piece of bacon in the air, pushing Sasha down with his other hand. Meanwhile, Sasha was trying to climb him like a jungle gym, and Connie was rolling around on the floor holding his stomach and laughing.

“Children,” I reprimanded. “Can I not leave you all alone for ten minutes?”

“Marco! Tell your man to fork over the bacon and no one has to get hurt,” Sasha spoke without taking her eyes off of the hand Jean held the bacon in.

“One, he is not my man. Two, he can do what he wants. And three, Jean give Sasha the bacon.”

“But Marco, it’s the last piece and I was trying to save it for you,” Jean explained.

“Sasha can have it if she wants it that much. I’ll just eat something else.” Jean rolled his eyes and lowered the bacon down to Sasha. She snatched it out of his palm and crammed it into her mouth before climbing down and sitting back in her own chair. Jean sat back and sipped at his previously abandoned coffee. Connie stayed on the floor. “Did you guys have food planned for the rest of us or…?”

“Uhm, well, the bacon was supposed to be for everyone to share, but then it looked so good. And no one else was up yet. So somehow it disappeared,” Sasha shrugged.

“Yeah. Somehow.” Jean whispered while wiggling his fingers ominously.

“It was the kitchen ghost again,” Connie reasoned.

“Well tell the kitchen ghost she needs to find something for everyone else to eat.” Sasha peered around the kitchen blankly.

“Uh, well, there must be something here somewhere.”

“Go wake everyone else up. I figured this might happen, so I hid back up food,” Connie sighed.

“You did what? I hate you,” Sasha said flatly.

“Roger that,” I saluted and went to knock on everyone’s doors to wake them up. Once we had all assembled in the kitchen Connie disappeared into the walk-in pantry. He reappeared with several boxes of donuts piled in his arms. Sasha squealed.

“I take back what I said. I love you, you beautiful, beautiful man.” She flung her arms around his shoulders and planted kisses all over his face. I took the donuts out of Connie’s hands before they became collateral damage in Sasha’s affection. I laid them out on the counter so everyone could dig in while Sasha was still distracted. After snagging myself a chocolate frosted donut with rainbow sprinkles, my favorite, I sat down next to Jean at the table. He had chocolate donut holes on his plate. I popped one in my mouth and grinned at his frown. As a peace offering I held my own donut near his mouth, but when he went to take a bite I “accidentally” smushed it into his nose a bit. Frosting and sprinkles clung to his face. I laughed until he wiped some off and tried to smear it on my face. I was so preoccupied batting away his hand that I didn’t realize how close his face was. He ducked in and drew a line from my chin to the corner of my mouth with the tip of his nose.

“Eww,” I complained and struggled to break free while he continued to try to smudge more frosting on my face with his face.

“Aww,” several voices chorused. Jean and I froze. I looked over to see that everyone else in the entire kitchen was staring at us. The heat crawling up my face no doubt meant that I had a blush that matched the shade of red that Jean’s face had turned. He released me and backed away to grab napkins. After silently offering me one he used the other to wipe himself clean.

“No, Jean you’re doing it all wrong. Here, do it like this.” Reiner gathered some frosting on the tip of his finger and dotted it on Bertholdt’s lip, then leaned in and lick it off before he sucked his boyfriend’s lip into his mouth.

“Gross.”

“Get a room.”

“Stop making out in my kitchen.” Jean rolled his eyes at the increasingly lewd PDA. I laughed. Bertholdt took his turn to blush and swat away Reiner, but not without one last placating kiss. “Here you go, apple torte.” Sasha set a mug of light brown, sweet smelling liquid in front of me. Chai tea latte.

“Thank you,” I smiled and took a sip. The rest of breakfast passed in relative silence. Small chit chat here and there. Plans for the day. Most everyone was headed back to campus. Sasha and Connie were spending another day here at the house. Jean and I were going to meet my family. Oh my gosh, Jean was meeting my family. Universe grant me strength, I was gonna need it. We dispersed from the kitchen to pack our bags and pile them back into our respective cars. Hugs and goodbyes were exchanged among us all, then we were on the road.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

_Jean’s POV_

 

Marco’s home wasn’t far from Sasha’s and we pulled up along the curb out front in no time. “Last chance to save yourself,” he offered.

“I’m already here. I think it’s a little too late to escape now,” I snarked.

“I could always just leave you in the car and distract them while you make a run for it,” he laughed.

“Nah, I’m sure I’ll be fine. Plus, your mom would kill you if you didn’t bring me along.”

“True. I think my family is more excited to see you than they are me.”

“Pff. Impossible.” Marco punched in the code on the keypad to open the garage door. Once inside he kicked his shoes off in the mud room and instructed me to do the same. The sound of clacking nails was approaching quickly. A tiny ball of tan fur skidded to a stop in front of us before the entire thing began wiggling at Marco’s feet.

“Muffin!” he exclaimed and picked up the excited dog. “I missed you!” Marco snuggled into him as the dog licked at his face. “Were you a good boy while I was gone?”

“Muffin?” I questioned.

“Jean, this is my dog. His name is Oliver. He’s a Norwich Terrier. And he’s also my precious baby. Right, muffin?” he smothered Oliver’s belly with kisses before returning him to the ground.

“His name is Oliver, but you call him muffin? Is it because his coloring is kind of like a muffin?” I asked.

“Huh? Oh, I guess you’re right he is kind of colored like a muffin. But no, I just call him muffin because he’s my muffin. So cute I could just eat him up. Isn’t that right my pumpkin muffin?” Marco cooed at the dog and he wiggled again. Well okay then. “Oh I’m sorry, Jean, you’re not allergic are you?” Marco asked worriedly.

“No, no, I’m fine.” I slunk down to the dog’s level and stuck out my hand for him to come smell. He looked from me, to Marco, back to me, back to Marco.

“Well go and say hi,” he said to the dog while pointing at me. Oliver trotted over and leaned in slowly to my hand. His nose twitched as he picked up on my scent. He stopped and lifted his head to look me dead in the eye, paused, and then sneezed directly onto my hand. Marco burst out in laughter. “Aww he finds you acceptable.”

“Is that what that was? And here I thought he decided I was a tissue.” Marco just shrugged.

“Terriers. They tend to be buttfaces with giant attitude problems. Gotta love ‘em.”

“Marco? Is that you, mijo?” a woman’s voice, likely Marco’s mother judging by the mijo thing, called.

“Sí, mamá.” A petite woman with long, jet black hair; dark, almost black eyes; and skin a shade darker than Marco’s morning chai tea lattes walked into the room. “Jean this is my mother, Kamila. Mom this is Jean.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Bodt,” I extended my hand to shake with hers.

“Ach,” she scoffed. “We hug in this household. Especially if you are one of Marco’s friends, then you are family. And please, don’t be so formal. Kamila is fine. Unless you want to call me mamá then that is fine too,” she wrapped me up in a surprisingly strong grip for such a tiny woman. Marco was failing at trying to hide his snickering behind his hand, but he got his when his mother turned and yanked him into his own bone crushing hug. When she released him they exchanged kisses on each of their cheeks. “Mijo look at you! You’re so skinny! You leave for a few months and already you are a walking stick. I’ll have to fix that. Come, come, the rest of the family is waiting for you.” We walked together to the other end of the family room that was connected to the mud room we had entered from. A modest sized kitchen was adjacent, but we headed through a sliding, glass door into a sun room instead. Through the walls of windows I saw a multi-tiered deck that merged into an expansive back yard backed by a line of trees. A playset sat off to the left side of the grass. Up on the deck a fire pit was on a lower left level and a hot tub (ooo hot tub) was on a raised portion of deck to the right. No matter how much I was going to regret it when I got out into the chilly autumn air, I was making Marco let me in that thing.

Four people littered the back yard with noise. A girl who looked to be in her teens was laying on a bench and listening to her iPod. It was turned up so loud that I could hear the indulgent guitar riffs of classic rock and roll from several paces away. She was reading a book of Edgar Allan Poe poetry as if her brain wasn’t being overloaded with enough stimuli from the music. She looked nearly identical to her mother, but with a faint smattering of freckles. Her hair was long, even pulled up on top of her head in a ponytail it bounced to just below her shoulder blades when she sat up. The really striking thing about her hair, however, was not the length, but the color. While the top half of her hair was black, the bottom layer was dyed a deep crimson. Her black eyeliner was heavy, and her clothes were black from head to toe. A silver ring decorating her nostril glinted in the sunlight. Nails were painted black and I would bet money that her toes were too. Ah, I remembered that phase in my life. Not that it had been that long ago. Not that I didn’t still have the piercings. Not that I didn’t still have a ninety-five percent black wardrobe… “Mirla come say hi to your brother and his friend, Jean,” Kamila called to her daughter. Mirla rolled her eyes at her mother, but shot a tiny smile at Marco. She hopped off the bench and sat her book down before wandering over to hug Marco. Her hug was delicate, but Marco quickly remedied that by squeezing her in his arms and lifting her up off the ground.

“Marco, put me down!” she squawked. Marco laughed, but released her.

“Mirla, this is my friend Jean. Jean, my fourteen year old sister Mirla,” Marco introduced. She turned and scanned me with her eyes from top to bottom. Once at my toes her gaze snapped up quickly to my face, then skirted away.

“Hi,” she murmured.

“Nice to meet you,” I replied. If I hadn’t known better I’d have thought she looked a shade pinker than when I first saw her. Perhaps she’d been out here too long in the sun.

“Cariño, hijos, Marco’s home!” Kamila called at the trio in the yard playing bags.

“Marco!” two young kids squealed and came barreling towards Marco. They crashed into him at the same time, nearly knocking the whole lot of them down.

“Marco, Marco, did you miss us?”

“We missed you.”

“Of course I missed you guys,” Marco chided.

“Marco who’s that?”

“This is my friend, Jean. Jean these are the twins, Elin and Lorcan.” Elin and Lorcan were just above waist height. Elin, the little girl, sported chin-length, dark brown hair, while Lorcan, the little boy, had hair of the same color cut short like Marco’s. Both sported the same dark features as their mother, but had even more freckles then Marco. They wore matching overalls, Elin in red, Lorcan in purple. “Guys, tell Jean how old you are.”

“Ten,” they said proudly and held up all ten of their fingers.

“Wow, so you guys are big kids then,” I said.

“Yeah! I just lost my last baby tooth a couple days ago, but Lorcan still has two of his. Here see?” Elin showed off the gap in her bottom row of teeth.

“Would you look at that? Did you put it under your pillow for the tooth fairy?” I asked her.

“Mhm. I got a whole quarter for it. I’m saving up for a new remote control car,” Elin exclaimed proudly.

“If you keep saving up and doing your chores you’ll have your new car in no time,” a man who had to be Marco’s father said as he ruffled Elin’s hair. His features overall matched the rest of the Bodt clan, just several shades lighter. Clearly he was also the originator of the freckle gene. “I’m Shaye, Marco’s father. It’s a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard nothing but good things about you.” I shot a quick glance at Marco who had suddenly found the cloudless blue sky exceptionally fascinating before I met the outstretched hand for a shake.

“It’s nice to meet you too, Mr. Bodt.”

“Please call me Shaye. We’re not so formal in this household,” he waved his hands dismissively.

“That’s what I told him, but at least the boy has good manners,” Kamila interjected. “So Marco, did you happen to have any specific plans for you two boys today?”

“Uh, no, not particularly,” he admitted.

“Well, I thought maybe it might be a good idea to all go to Cooper’s Farm and do some apple picking, maybe pick up some of their apple cider donuts. Just an idea, what do you think?” Kamila shrugged, but something in her tone made me feel like she already knew the answer to her question.

“Apple cider donuts? Oh my gosh I almost forgot about those! We’ll come too,” Marco decided. If he got this excited about donuts after just having some this morning I was not going to keep him from them.

“Great,” Kamila clapped her hands together. “The kids have to finish some chores first, so how about you take both of your bags down to your room and then show Jean around the house a little bit.” The other three children groaned at the mention of chores, but were silenced immediately by a look from their mother. No arguments.

“Okay. Come on, Jean, let’s go get our stuff out of the car.” I followed obediently after Marco. We each took our own bag in hand and headed back into the house. This time we did venture into the kitchen, but only so far as a doorway to a staircase leading down into the basement. “My room is down here. Initially I was upstairs, but when the twins got bigger and needed their own separate rooms I moved down here. The bottom of the stairs opened up into a large room. Directly to my right along the wall was a small kitchenette with a small fridge, microwave, and sink. Up against the next wall was a large TV set and a plush, U-shaped, sectional couch faced it. Next to the TV was a door that appeared to lead outside. The far wall had two doors, and the wall to my left had a row of closet doors, clearly designated for storage. I followed Marco to the door on the left into his bedroom. It was simple, painted a pale green color. He had a large dark brown rug that was the same tone as all the wood furnishings. His bedspread was a deep green and the sheets and pillowcases were complimenting shades of brown and green. Tiny purple flowers grew in pots on the window sill. It was like being swallowed by the forest, but it was comforting. On top of everything the room was lush with the smell I had come to associate with Marco. The same earthy, spicy, but mildly floral scent made me feel much more at home than I probably should in such a new space. Marco dropped his bag by his closet and told me to just drop mine at the foot of his bed.

“I like your room. It’s like…your own little oasis down here,” I mused.

“Wait till you see this part then,” Marco laughed and pushed the door in the wall to our right open. “In here,” he waved me over. Inside the bathroom continued a similar theme. There was a large shower with a glass door. Rippled tiles in varying shades of blue covered the back wall and floor, while more pebble like tiles in a tan color covered the sides.

“It’s like a waterfall,” I awed.

“Yup. My mom designed all of this. She said she needed something to remind her of her old home as a child. I just reap the benefits,” Marco beamed.

“Is your mom some sort of interior designer or something?”

“Actually yes.”

“Wait seriously?” I asked.

“Mhm. That’s how she and my dad met. He’s a general contractor. They ended up working on a bunch of projects together many years ago and the rest is history,” Marco explained. “Come on. I’ll show you the rest of the house.” We trotted upstairs to the kitchen that I was becoming increasingly familiar with. It was the heart of the home, centrally located. There was a hallway next to the entrance to the basement that lead straight to the front door. A staircase up to the second level was to the left of that. We ventured up. “The laundry is here,” Marco pointed to the left at an inset area with a washer and dryer and racks. “That room next to it is my parents. Here on our right is Mirla’s room.” Clearly. It was draped in shades of black, gray, and red. As dark as it was I could make out some candles and a large bookshelf. Yup, definitely didn’t miss that part of my life. We continued down the hall. “Next to her room is the shared bathroom, then this is Elin’s room.” Hers was covered in superhero posters. This girl I could get along with. “And finally this one is Lorcan’s at the end of the hall.” This room was simple. A few dolls and action figures were strewn about the floor, but nothing quite as chaotic as Elin’s room. We turned around and went back down the stairs into a room to the right of the front door. It was a working office for the two parents judging by the laptops, printer, bookcases filled with books and binders, filing cabinets, and two large wooden desks. The office flowed directly into a formal dining room with a large dining table. I laughed.

“You know, most families don’t have one of these anymore. I’m surprised someone else besides myself has one.”

“Yeah well, when your extended family is as big as mine and they all like to come to your house for the holidays, you need a giant dining room to fit them in,” Marco explained. The dining room led back into the kitchen where we found Kamila bustling about. “Mamá what are you making?”

“Oh, just putting together something in the crockpot for dinner tonight. That way it can cook while we are out. Mijo do you mind helping me out?”

“Sure, what can I do?” Marco walked to the sink and washed his hands.

“Could you cut all the vegetables in that bag over there for me?” she said gesturing to a plastic bag sitting on the counter.

“Kamila is there anything I can do to help?” I offered. She turned and smiled fondly at me and patted my cheek.

“Well if you want some work you can help Marco chop up the vegetables. Two sets of hands work faster than one.”

“Okay.” I followed suit and washed my hands before taking a knife and cutting board that Marco offered me. It didn’t take long for us to finish. Kamila prepped beef in chunks and tossed them in the crockpot with some beef broth. We added our vegetables and stepped back to the sink to wash up while she added spices to the pot and set it up to cook.

“Thank you, boys, you helped a lot.”

“Of course, mamá,” Marco replied.

“Mamá, mamá! We finished our chores. Can we go to Cooper’s now?” Lorcan came running around the corner into the kitchen with Elin on his heels.

“What about Mirla, did she finish her chores?” Kamila questioned.

“Yes, I’m done too.” Mirla joined us in the kitchen.

“Ah, I wish you would be this speedy with your chores every week and not just because we’re doing something special mija,” Kamila teased. “Okay go find your father and all of you put your shoes and coats on. Don’t forget a pair of gloves, it’s cold out there,” Kamila called after her escaping children. Marco began tugging, more like dragging, me towards the basement stairs.

“Come on Jean, we don’t want to keep the others waiting. Let’s grab some sweatshirts and hit the road.” I laughed.

“Sounds to me like I shouldn’t keep you waiting, sunshine,” I mused.

“Good boy. You understand.” Marco grasped my chin in his hand and leant into my ear. I could feel his breath fanning against the sensitive shell. He was so close. “Last one downstairs is a rotten egg,” he whispered right before bolting away.

“Hey! Not fair! You used trickery and underhanded tactics! That was a dirty move!” I bellowed after him as I chased him down the stairs. As my accusations subsided I could hear the faint sound of Kamila’s laughter echoing down at us from the kitchen.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kamila - kah-MILL-ah - Arabic - perfection  
> Mirla - MEER-lah - Spanish - blackbird  
> Elin - EE-lin - Gaelic - mischievous  
> Lorcan - LORE-kn - Gaelic - little fierce one  
> Shaye - SHAY - Gaelic - admirable
> 
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)


	12. Cooper's Farm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We have an adventure at Cooper's Farm and dinner at the Bodt's.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't updated this fic in how long? *gasp* It feels like just a few days ago I posted the last chapter. Work and school keep me busy apparently, but I got straight A's so...here have some apology smut?

**Chapter 12**

_Jean’s POV_

I learned very quickly that the organization of everyone in the Bodts’ van, or Bodt-mobile as Elin informed me, was a deliberate thing. I sat in the back squished between Marco and Mirla on a bench seat. Elin and Lorcan had their own individual seats one row up. Mr. Bodt drove and Mrs. Bodt occupied the front passenger seat. The youngest needed to be closer to their parents for supervision, demonstrated by the fact that they engaged in an all-out Goldfish cracker fight immediately after our departure. Mrs. Bodt tried to discourage them and shield Mr. Bodt as much as she could. The bonus of sitting behind the twins was obvious in the fact that I could see the food come flying at me and protect myself. Mirla generously offered me one of her poetry books to block my face from the worst of the cast off. She and I both took great joy in the fact that Marco, without a book, was helpless. With every Goldfish that hit his face he shot us a pitiful look that only made Mirla and I laugh. Thankfully it was not a long drive to Cooper’s Farm. Mr. Bodt parked the van in a gravel lot next to a smattering of other cars. “What do you all think, should we go apple picking first?” Mrs. Bodt asked.

“Yeah! Apples!” Elin roared and started running circles around us. “Let’s go!” So Mrs. Bodt led the way to the tractor and wagon that would pull us toward the apple orchard. Mr. Bodt insisted on covering the fee for all of us to go and handed out baskets bigger than my head to each of us. We all claimed a seat on the hay bales stacked inside the giant wagon with several other families.

 

When we came to a complete stop and the guide let us out of the wagon all of the children from every family went sprinting towards the trees, most forgetting to even bring their baskets. The Bodts and I trailed after Lorcan and Elin to a row of trees. They were already plucking some yellow delicious apples from the branches. Mirla picked up Elin to help her reach a particularly large apple she had been jumping for. Mr. Bodt put Lorcan on his shoulders and wandered around with him. Mrs. Bodt was inspecting a tree of her own. I looked at the row next to us to find honey crisp apples, my favorite. Without another thought I dragged Marco with me to the nearest one and climbed up on the ladder to reach the upper branches. “These are my favorite!” I said by way of explanation. He just laughed.

“They’re my mom’s favorite too. You better not let her find your stash later or you’ll have none left.” I continued to pluck the biggest ones I could find while Marco worked below me. Just above my head I spotted the largest and shiniest apple I had seen all day.

“Ohoho, you will be mine,” I whispered as I stretched up on my tip toes to grab it. Just as I closed my hand around it I felt my sense of balance shift as the ladder wobbled. “Woah!” But there was no sense of falling, no hitting the ground below. Instead, I could feel a hand resting on my lower back, stabilizing me. I looked down to where Marco was holding the ladder and grinning up at me.

“You don’t have to hurt yourself in your excitement, sunshine. They’re just apples,” he taunted. I glanced around to make sure that no one was looking before I flipped him off.

“Jean, I saw that.” Mrs. Bodt called. I looked at her incredulously. Her back was still turned to us and I looked at Marco questioningly.

“My mom has four kids. She made a pact with El Diablo to become a witch with an all-seeing eye,” Marco explained with a shrug. Not two seconds later did an apple come flying and pop him lightly in the middle of his chest. “Mamá!”

“Be careful, Marco, those falling apples can be dangerous,” she called with a grin. Marco just humphed and went back to picking more apples. It didn’t take long for Elin to coax Lorcan into a game of tag around the trees. Their baskets were being topped off by Mr. and Mrs. Bodt so that we could move on from this activity.

 

Once they finished we hopped in a wagon to get back to the main portion of the farm. “Look mamá, baby goats!” Lorcan shouted, pointing at a small pen by a barn.

“Marco, Jean, how about you two take the twins to look at the petting zoo, maybe play in the maze, and your father, Mirla, and I will go pick out some pumpkins and get donuts and cider,” Mrs. Bodt suggested.

“Okay. Come on Lorcan, Elin, let’s go pet the kids,” Marco acquiesced. Elin and Lorcan both shot Marco a funny look. He laughed, “Kids are what you call a baby goat.”

“Ohh,” they chorused and then sprinted ahead of us.

“I hope they go to school on Monday and tell their teacher that their big brother came home from college to take them to pet some kids,” I commented. Marco just shushed me and picked up his pace to catch up to the twins. In fact it was not just kids in the pen, but also lambs and a few piglets. Elin took a handful of food from one of the people supervising the pen to give to the little animals. Lorcan, on the other hand, hung by his sister’s side and watched her instead. Clearly he had some reservations about letting the animals swarm him to get at some food. Marco quickly jumped in to help. He took some food and squatted down by Lorcan. Marco scooped up a small handful and offered it to a nearby piglet, showing Lorcan that it was safe. Then, he took another pinch and put it in Lorcan’s cupped hands to do the same. Lorcan giggled as the pig’s snout tickled his hands when he slopped up the food. I heard a little yelp. When I turned around Elin was trying to push off a small horde of animals nosing at her outturned pockets. Apparently she had stuck food in there to hold while she handed it out, but the smell lingered after the food was all gone. I quickly moved over to her and shuffled my way through the horde to where Elin was trapped at the core. I knelt down and turned my back to her. “Hop on.” She climbed on my back and wrapped her arms around my neck. As I stood she pulled up her legs so that she was almost entirely out of the reach of the animals. I carried her back over to where Marco and Lorcan were finishing off their portion of the feed. He mouthed a thank you at me. I just shrugged a no biggie back.

“Maybe it’s time for us to go play in the maze,” Marco said. Elin perked right back up at that.

“Yeah! Onward to the maze my trusty steed. Giddy-up!” Elin cried. First Eren, now this little runt with the horse jokes. I must have made a face because Marco snickered behind his hand, as if that would prevent me from hearing him do so. I decided to ignore him and take Elin toward the maze. There didn’t appear to be anyone else there at the moment. I set Elin down. It wasn’t a very big maze, but the hay bales were stacked even taller than Marco. “Let’s have a race. First one out wins,” Elin challenged.

“Yeah!” Lorcan agreed.

“I’m in,” Marco added.

“Alright. Winner gets all of the honor that Prince Zuko’s family never gave him,” I finalized.

“Woah. That’s a lot,” Lorcan whispered.

“Okay on the count of three. One. Two,” Marco sprinted off into the maze, “Three!”

“Hey, that’s cheating,” I called after him as Lorcan ran at his heels. “Elin, wanna team up for the glory?” She nodded. “Okay let’s go in. If we come to a part where we have to decide on a path I’ll lift you up and you see which way we go.”

“Okay.” We sprinted into the maze. At the first split I picked her up and saw that Marco had managed to head the right way on his own, but at the next split he went the wrong way. We ran, but slipped quietly around the next turn so he couldn’t hear which way we went. Two splits later and he caught on to our scheme.

“Hey, you two are cheating!” We only laughed and kept running. A few bends later and we were the first ones out of the maze, followed by Lorcan, and finally Marco. “That is so not fair you two were working together.”

“Prince Zuko had to do some questionable things to finally earn his honor at the end,” I countered.

“Yeah! We were resourceful,” Elin added.

“Nice word, Elin,” Marco complimented. “I guess I never did say no teams,” he relented. Marco pulled out his phone to text his dad. They were just finishing up at the checkout line and told us to meet them out by the car. From where we stood I could see the van in the distance, nothing but field in between us.

“How about one last race? First one to the car wins?” I asked.

“You’re on,” Marco said. We lined up, both Elin and I put our arms out in front of Marco so he couldn’t get a head start on us again. “Ready? One. Two. Three!” As soon as he hit three Marco turned and wrapped his arms around me. “Run quickly! I’ll hold him back!” he shouted at the twins as they dashed away.

“Sore loser,” I frowned at him from where I was squished unnecessarily tightly in his arms. Marco just smiled and released me to catch up to his siblings. I followed dutifully after, shaking my head.

 

~~~~~~~~

 

Back at the Bodt’s house we all washed up and then set the table for dinner while Mrs. Bodt made sure that the food was ready to be served. I sat at an extra chair between Marco and Mirla at the table. Lorcan and Elin sat directly across from us. Mr. and Mrs. Bodt took up the end seats. We each reached for a dish to scoop onto our plates before passing them along the table until all of the dishes had made a round. Amicable chatter occupied the sounds of clinking silverware on plates. Elin and Lorcan excitedly shared the plans they had to build a treehouse in the backyard. Mr. and Mrs. Bodt spoke of a project they had just completed for a family. Marco and I fielded questions about our classes. “So, Jean, I’ve heard that you are on the school’s rock climbing team?” Mrs. Bodt asked.

“Oh, yeah. It’s actually the competitive extreme rock climbing team. We rock climb, but not with traditional gear. We have a propulsion system attached to a harness that gives us extra speed and lift. With those we can climb higher, more complex walls than the standard,” I explained.

“Marco here told us you all are preparing for a competition? He says you’ve been spending a lot of late nights doing extra practice alone. That’s quite admirable, dedicating yourself to so much hard work,” Mr. Bodt complimented me. I blushed at the praise. When I skirted my eyes over to Marco he was conveniently marveling at the remaining crumbs on his plate.

“It’s not that much, really. Sometimes I feel like I don’t work hard enough as it is. I wish I had more hours in the day,” I admitted. Mrs. Bodt picked up her plate and stood up from the table. She patted my head as she walked towards the sink.

“If it’s important, you’ll make enough time for it,” she reassured. “Would everyone carry their dishes to the sink. Marco can you be in charge of rinsing and putting them in the dishwasher?”

A chorus of “Yes, mamá,” echoed around me. We all stood to bring our dishes into the kitchen. I helped Marco by rinsing everything off before he organized it all in the dishwasher. Apparently there is a specific way to load a dishwasher properly and apparently I don’t know it. Afterwards we descended to Marco’s little basement suite.

“Wanna watch a movie or something?” Marco asked as he wandered over to a shelving unit full of DVDs.

“Sure. Did you have one in mind?” I asked as I sat myself down on the plush couch.

“Hmm, I think after all of the drama from yesterday I need something to laugh at, ooh, or better yet some eye candy.” Marco presented the cover for Magic Mike with a flourish and wiggle of his eyebrows. I laughed.

“Fine, fine, put it on,” I waved him toward the TV. “The dancing is pretty cool to watch anyway.” Marco paused. He turned and pursed his lips, eyes squinting slightly.

“Just the dancing?” he inquired in a mildly taunting tone.

“Okay, okay, the guys doing the dancing are nice to look at too,” I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. Marco let out a low laugh. He finished putting in the DVD, snatched up the remote, turned off the lights, and sat on the couch next to me. For a brief moment the whole room was blacked out. Marco’s nearness was electric. My hand twitched toward him, wanting to complete the circuit and let the current pass between us. I quickly occupied it with scratching a non-existent itch on my leg as the TV illuminated the room once again and the movie began.

_Marco’s POV_

“Ugh, Channing Tatum should not be allowed to have that nice of a butt. It’s got to be illegal,” I whined.

“I wish my butt was that nice,” Jean mumbled.

“Your butt is nice,” I said without thinking. I froze. Darn my lack of a filter when I’m in a sleepy haze. Jean snorted and poked my shoulder.

“You think I have a nice butt?” he teased. “Marco, have you been staring at my butt?” He edged closer and continued his poking.

“N-no, it’s just. I mean we live in the same room. I see you all of the time. Not that I’m looking. I mean I have functioning eyes so technically I am looking. So speaking as a completely objective, third party, outsider with no personal-“ Jean cut off my rambling by pressing his lips against my own. The blood in my veins turned to ice. He must have felt me tense because he pulled back just enough to nuzzle his nose against mine. Jean’s hand cupped my jaw and his thumb stroked my cheek. I let out a long sigh through my nose. His touch, his smell, this was Jean. I nuzzled him back as a nonverbal reassurance. The frosty feeling in my body quickly switched to a slow boiling heat. “You just kissed me,” I said with a sudden realization.

“I did. I kinda wanna do it again too,” he admitted without ever breaking our physical contact. I pulled back to properly look him in the eyes. They were dilated and his face was a little flushed. Before I could register another thought Jean’s mouth was pressed against mine once again. I could feel his weight pressing down on my lap, his knees on either side of my hips. Both of his hands were cupping my face. My hands slid down his back, fingers skimming his sensitive spine. He arched into me involuntarily at the touch and moaned into the kiss. The sound made me momentarily delirious with lust. I took the opportunity to lick my way into his mouth and cup his ass. He really did have a nice ass. My grip allowed me enough leverage to pull his body tightly against mine. I sighed with the added friction against my erection. My tongue swirled circles around his before I pulled it back. I planted a few close-mouthed kisses before sucking on his bottom lip. Our mouths finally separated when Jean placed both of his hands on my shoulders and slowly kissed his way down to my neck. There I felt him alternate between kissing, nipping, and sucking marks on all available skin. I tilted my head back to give him easier access. Each time he sunk his teeth into my neck I groaned and my grip reflexively tightened on his ass. I slid my hands up under his shirt, exposing pale, toned abdominals, to roll my thumbs over his nipples. Occasionally I would pinch them between my fingertips to pull a whimper from Jean’s mouth. He started to slowly rock his hips against mine. Each roll came faster and with more fervency. Jean abandoned his mission to cover my neck in marks to bury his face in my shoulder and pant heavily. I wasn’t fairing much better, my erection throbbed with every grind against Jean. I skimmed my palms down his chest, over his hips, all the way to his knees. Once there I picked up a slow circuit of rubbing my thumbs in tiny circles along Jean’s inner thighs. “Marco, touch me,” Jean breathed into my ear. I inched my touches closer to his groin.

“Now, Jean, you have to ask nicely when you want something. Where are your manners?” I chastised. He let out a frustrated whine that was music to my ears.

“Please, Marco, please just touch me,” Jean begged. Now that was even better music to my ears. I palmed his erection and squeezed. Jean let out a loud moan and pushed his hips harder into my hand. I ran my thumb up and down his length making Jean melt at my touch. So needy. He threaded his fingers into my hair and pulled every time my finger ran over the head of his dick. “More. Marco…need more,” Jean whispered against my skin. I used my hands to unbutton his jeans and pull down the zipper slowly.

“You mean like this?” I asked innocently then went back to rubbing my thumb over him on top of his underwear. Jean huffed.

“No, more,” Jean grumbled.

“Well then perhaps you should tell me what you want. I can’t do it until you tell me,” I taunted.

“I have a better idea.” Jean slid his hands down my chest to the waistband of my jeans and clutched at the front where my button was. “How about I show you what I want instead?” He tugged a little at my jeans to convey his intention, but locked eyes with mine and waited before going ahead with it.

“Fine. Do as you like. Show me what you want,” I commanded. Jean’s eye lit up with a fire as he scrambled to undo the button and zipper. He dug his hand into my underwear to pull out my own neglected erection. He immediately wrapped his hand around my dick and stroked slowly up and down. The sudden attention to my previously unattended length caused me to groan and my eyes to roll back. I ducked back in for a wet, open-mouthed kiss while I reached to free Jean’s erection as well. He moaned and panted into my mouth. Each stroke of my hand caused Jean to grunt and tug at my hair with the hand that had wound its way back there. I was dizzy with want. With my free hand I pulled Jean impossibly close and shooed his hand away from my groin. Instead I wrapped my own around our erections brushing them together. “Oh, Jean,” I murmured against his lips. With so much precum my hand slid easily up and down. I could feel the tension low in my stomach. I was close. Jean looked like he was no better. His eyes were glazed over and he rocked into my grasp. I picked up the pace of my stroking. Both of our muffled moans accompanied each movement of mine. Jean kissed the corner of my mouth, my cheek, my jaw.

“Marco. Marco I’m close. Oh my god. I’m gonna cu-oh just like that. Don’t stop. Marco, Marco, oh Marco…Marco. Hey, Marco. Wake up.” I blinked my eyes open slowly.

“Wha-? Jean?”

“You fell asleep during the movie. Come on you should go sleep in your bed,” Jean urged. He grabbed my arm and started hauling my still half-asleep butt toward my bedroom. I fell asleep? So that was…a dream? I can’t remember the last time one of my dreams was that vivid. It felt so real. Jean pushed me into my bed and started to pull the covers up around me. When he turned to walk away I stopped him.

“Wait. Where are you going?” My brain was still pretty fuzzy from my nap.

“To sleep on the couch?” Jean sounded unsure. Maybe it was just the dream making me feel the need to keep Jean close by, to enjoy his soothing presence, but I was too tired to think about it.

“That’s stupid. Just sleep with me.”

_Jean’s POV_

I blinked at Marco. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open, still dopey from the remnants of sleep. He probably didn’t realize what he just said. Not everyone’s mind lives in the gutter I mentally chastised myself. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah, the couch sucks to sleep on. I can’t make you sleep on it. I know this bed is smaller than the one at Sasha’s, but if it makes you uncomfortable I can sleep on the couch,” he offered.

“No, no it’s fine. Just scoot over.” I gave in. I could handle one night of close quarters with Marco without being weird. I slid in next to him and pulled the covers back up over us both. I rolled onto my side with my back to him. “Goodnight, starlight.”

“’Night, sunshine,” he mumbled. This wasn’t so bad. I could manage this. I closed my eyes and was about to sink into sleep when I felt something at the nape of my neck, then back, and waist. My eyes flew back open. Marco had curled himself around me, his arm wrapped around my middle.

“Marco?” No response. I stopped for a moment and could hear the faint snores coming from behind me. I sighed. If I moved away from his touch, I’d probably wake him up. Definitely did not want that, but mostly I didn’t really want to move away from him. He was warm, and that was welcome in the chilly basement. I decided to let myself concede to my traitorous feelings and let it go for tonight only.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What? You didn't expect me to give you real smut yet did you? Patience my dearies. It will happen.  
> Poor Marco is going to have a crisis in the morning. Maybe you should listen to your dreams Marco. Your unconscious mind knows you better than your conscious one.
> 
> Tell me if you find any errors and I always welcome comments and feedback.  
> I realized as I wrote this that this little project is taking me so much longer than I initially planned. Because of this I feel that there's probably some change in the way I wrote or consistency errors. Like I say every time, I intend to see this project to the end, no matter how long it takes me. To those that continue to read every update, even though they are inconsistent, thank you. Thank you so much for spending the time to read my little story.  
> [My Tumblr](http://sadistprionnsa.tumblr.com/)


End file.
